McLaren F1-engined Porsche 911

No, this very neat Porsche 930 Turbo doesn’t have the engine from a McLaren F1.

It has something much cooler, the engine from an actual McLaren Formula One car, namely the 1.5-litre TAG-Porsche twin-turbocharged V6 that first appeared at the 1983 Dutch Grand Prix.

The car was snapped by Martin Spain of Drive Cult during a McLaren employee motor show a couple of years ago and was supposedly used as a rolling test bed for the development of the engine.

A 911 was used as though the engines were badged TAG (CEO Mansour Ojjeh owns a significant stake in McLaren) they were built by Porsche. It clearly worked well, as McLaren would capture the 1984 and 1985 constructor’s championships and 1984, ’85 and ’86 driver’s championships.

Sadly, it appears the car is seldom, if ever, used, living its life among other priceless treasures in McLaren’s storage warehouse.

Kudos to Martin for ignoring the ‘no photography’ signs and providing evidence of this incredible car.