VIN: the 1 of 1 Motokazu Sayama McLaren F1 chassis 043
History of chassis 043
In April 1995, McLaren received an approach from Japanese businessman, Motokazu Sayama, who wanted his medical supplies company, Ueno Clinic, to be the title sponsor of an F1 GTR at that year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
With no advertising space left on any of the other GTRs, McLaren decided to press their development mule into service: chassis 01R. They arranged for a small contingent of factory personnel to run the car at la Sarthe in conjunction with Lanzante Motorsport.
01R was to appear in a black and grey livery at Le Mans under the Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing banner. Motokazu Sayama would be allowed to buy the car after the race unless it won, in which case it would remain with McLaren.
Against the odds, JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya took a famous victory in the Ueno Clinic-backed car at Le Mans which meant 01R returned to McLaren where it has resided ever since.
As for Motokazu Sayama, he was supplied with a matching black and grey-liveried F1 road car at a heavily discounted price: chassis 043.
The 36th F1 production car built and one of 14 examples completed in 1995, chassis 043 was one of five black F1s. Of these, four were Jet Black and 043 was Black Metallic, the only car completed as such. To further mimic 01R, chassis 043’s lower nose, lower side and tail fascia panels were finished in grey. Inside, Motokazu Sayama opted for all-black leather upholstery with matching carpet and dark grey alcantara.
By the time chassis 043 returned to the UK after around a decade-and-a-half in Japan, it had accumulated under 3000 miles.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Tim Pitt - https://x.com/timpitt100
