Still reeling from the breathtaking beauty of the McLaren display at the recent Autosport Show, we couldn’t help but share with you this delectable pic of the cockpit of McLaren’s 1989 successor to the all-conquering MP4/4.
We’re not sure wether this car is Ayrton’s or team mate Alain Prost’s. Eiither way we think you’ll agree there’s something spine tingling at the prospect of sitting here.
There’s Alcantara wheel trim, manual shift and a clutch pedal: just enough to make you feel like a real racing driver.
1989 was the year when turbochargers were outlawed in F1, the season after Mclaren’s Franco Brazilian dream team had won every single victory possible with their wheezing, wailing blown beauty.
That said, they didn’t do too badly that season either, taking 10 GP firsts places (6 for Ayrton Senna and 4 for Prost). By this time Ayrton and Alain couldn’t stand each other by all accounts, and the intense competition the personality clash inspired pushed McLaren engineers to make a truly unbeatable platform.
Even though the Brazilian genius won more races than the Frenchman and more often than not placed better than him, shunts and mechanicals made him finish behind his French rival in the championship.
Race fans were the real champions that year.
This onboard footage will make your neck ache
