Lanzante LM25 Editions Tell Us It’s A Long Time Since McLaren Won Le Mans

Anyone else feel a little old now? It’s 25 years, a quarter of a whole century, since McLaren won Le Mans with an F1 GTR. To be fair, McLaren did have a good chance of victory with seven cars on the grid; they finished 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th, with two failing to finish.

To celebrate the occasion, British racing team Lanzante is creating seven individual LM 25 special editions. But they won’t all be based on the Senna - one is, and one’s based on the Senna GTR. The others are based on the coupe and spider versions of the 600LT and 765LT - the more hardcore models - and the seventh car is yet to be announced.

We doubt we’ll have long to wait, seeing as McLaren seems to launch a new supercar every week or so at the moment.

It might take a full-time supercar spotter to notice when one goes past, too. All seven cars are painted in Ueno grey, matching the winning F1 GTR’s livery. There are subtle ’59’ and ‘LM25’ badges, though, plus gorgeous unique carbon-fibre wheels and gold brake calipers. Titanium wheel bolts and gold ceramic coated heat shields echo the winning McLaren as well.

There’s another obvious hat-tip to the GTR - the seats, which we’re told are identical to those in 1995’s hottest F1. Those alone save 18kg, while Lanzante has hosed the cabin with Alcantara and carbon fibre. Gold-coloured anodised switches promise to be rather lovely to use.

All the changes have taken 27kg out of the cars, and they may be a bit faster than standard too. Where possible, some of the models will get a power boost, although no details have been given about any potential mechanical upgrades.

If you’re one of the lucky seven owners, you’ll need to hand your McLaren over for three months while it’s turned into an LM25 edition, and you’ll need to part with over £120,000 for the privilege. We’re in the wrong job.

What do you think of the LM25s? Comment below.