That name has been kind of put on back burner for a couple of years now due to other obligations but I would like to ask you guys to keep an eye out for something to pop up in this year. 

We are going to start off with my favorite car of all time and what I believe is the pinnacle of road-going super cars. There may be other cars out there now that are faster, more powerful, and more technologically advanced but none of these cars have seem to capture the raw essence of design. That’s right, we are talking about the Mclaren F1.

The reason why the Mclaren F1 has managed to attain such a timeless look is due to its proportions. One of the most important characteristics to good car design is proportion and that is what Gordan Murray and company have managed to master. To give an idea on the size of the Mclaren F1, a normal road-going 1999 Honda Civic coupe measures 4,448mm in length while the Mclaren F1 measures 4,287mm. That means the Mclaren is about 16cm or 6in shorter than the Civic. I think that if the car had been any longer, the vehicle’s design cues would not look as stunning as they do now.

The Mclaren F1’s design has managed to become so timeless due to the fact that it has the perfect blend of edges and curves. Take for example the headlights. The inside corners meet at sharp, straight edges while the outside corners have a flowing natural bend to them. The fluid curves on the outside edge of the headlights help to enhance the semi-bulbous fender line while the sharp edges of the the opposite corners accentuate the design cues of the hood. If you look carefully, you will notice that the vehicle’s hood has rounded edges that match the outside of the headlights while the scoop is composed of just straight lines that match the inside of the headlights. That is ingenious.

When you put all of these styling cues together, it just works. The angle of the cornerlights and headlights work in conjunction with the bonnet and hood scoop to sort of give this invisible racing stripe down the center of the car. The roof scoop is also the correct proportion and continues on the lines of the hood scoop. It is very difficult to achieve a balance between edges and curves but Gordon Murray and company have managed to do just that.

Part 2 coming soon.

For those who don’t know, I have been in love with the Mclaren F1 before I could even speak English. Its design is just captivating and I could spend countless hours studying it. There hasn’t been a car since that has invoked the same emotions in me as this one. This photo was taken by my favorite automotive photographer, John Brooks. No fancy studio set ups, no complicated off-camera lighting or extraneous editing; this just the pure art of capturing the raw essence of motorsports.

Keep a look out for the first in a series of design study posts that I hope you guys will enjoy.

Around 2, I decided to call it a night. As I was walking to my car, there was this 6 on 6 royal rumble going on in the parking lot adjacent to the venue. Lol, it was crazy. Everybody was wearing a goddamn Affliction or Ed Hardy shirt so all I saw was this big mass of shiny eagles and jewel encrusted tigers going at it. Then some random chicks got involved and ended up eating a knuckle sandwich. Lol. Anyways, onto the photos:

John the Third looking more like Gordan Freeman than a nerd.

I want to photoshop a giant violin in here so badly.

Suraj K, one of the people who made the event possible.

Dropping something nice and silky, probably a Joker track.

All kinds of different nerds were in attendance.

I don’t know what is happening here.

As always, you can find the full gallery on my Flickr.

If I was a girl, this would be awesome to me.

I have some pretty decent posts lined up for this week. They run the gamut from dim sum to a nerds dancing in a dark room, no lie.

My long time buddy from middle school Lucius has certainly stepped his game up. He went from catching rides from his sister to this beautiful IS-F sitting on some Modulare wheels. This car is proper business.

One of the NextStage NSXs. I like how you can barely see the kevlar at the bottom of the bumper. It is little touches like this that make a car.

Kimo’s fresh new paint. This car has come a very long way and has been through so many stages. I am really digging the C-West front bumper splashed in this extra loud paint. I still hate eyebrows though, no matter what.

Not sure whose car this is but it has decent parts. Those Starks look tiny on the car due to all this low offset madness that the west coast guys are doing. To think that a couple of years ago, +35 was considered a low offset for a FF Honda. Crazy.

Mr. Doh’s ultra clean coupe from Team 5 Star. This car is a great example of quality parts executed correctly. Sometimes, certain cars have all these rare parts but it just doesn’t flow well together. This is not one of those times.

As always, you can find all 30 or so photos on my flickr

As always, the full gallery: Flickr

In the mean time, here are some more green Eibach photos for people who are too lazy to sift through the Flickr page.

A quick observation: the current bread and butter set up seems to be chrome/polished wheels and engine parts, custom paint on both the exterior and engine bay, and low offset wheels. I feel that it is awesome how Honda guys are pushing new boundaries and being more creative with their builds. Take care.