VIN: the Yoshio Tsuzuki McLaren F1 chassis 053
History of chassis 053
Chassis 053 was the 35th McLaren F1 road car built and one of two originally painted white.
It was uniquely commissioned in Marlboro White with black upholstery and a blue driver’s seat. The other white car was chassis 031, which was finished in Special White with an all-black interior. Both vehicles were delivered new to Japan.
053 was ordered by ZENT CEO, Yoshio Tsuzuki.
Tsuzuki established ZENT in 1971. To this day, the company owns and runs a substantial number of large amusement and entertainment halls throughout Japan.
ZENT became title sponsor of Toyota’s World Sportscar Championship programme in 1992. Since then, the firm has continued to promote itself through Toyota’s various motor sport programmes.
Chassis 053 was subsequently joined by an F1 GTR (13R), an F1 LM (LM2) and a burgundy F1 GT (58F1GT). The cars were displayed together in Tsuzuki’s ZAZ Museum in Nagoya.
Yoshio Tsuzuki sold 053 to a Hong Kong collector in 2006. It returned to the UK where it was displayed by McLaren at Salon Prive.
The car was then reputedly sold to a Middle Eastern collector.
It subsequently passed to a Swiss custodian in 2017 and today resides alongside chassis XP3, 16R, 25R and 56XPGT.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: ZAZ Museum, Nagoya
