VIN: the Aziz Ojjeh / Mansour Ojjeh McLaren F1 chassis 075
History of chassis 075
Chassis 075 was the 64th and final F1 production car made.
It was completed in May 1998, the last of six F1s assembled that year.
The commission came from TAG co-owner and Vice President, Aziz Ojjeh, whose brother, Mansour, was a key player in the F1 road car programme.
Aziz and Mansour were the sons of Akram Ojjeh, a renowned industrialist whose interests included aviation, construction and retail. However, Akram Ojjeh was best known as the intermediary for oil and arms sales between Saudi Arabia and France, an arrangement that netted the family vast wealth.
TAG (Techniques d’Avant Garde) was established in 1977 as a private Luxembourg-based holding company for the Ojjeh’s technology and luxury brand interests.
TAG’s motor sport participation began when the firm became the title sponsor for the Williams F1 team between 1979 and 1982.
In late 1981, Ron Dennis approached Porsche about the possibility of creating a turbocharged engine for McLaren. Porsche agreed, if McLaren could come up with the money.
Dennis needed an investor and convinced Ojjeh to put up $5m, for which he would become co-owner of McLaren. The TAG Turbo Engines programme was born.
Porsche’s TAG-branded F1 power unit was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1983. Its race debut came at the Dutch Grand Prix in August.
The following season, TAG Turbo-powered McLaren MP4/2s won twelve out of 16 races and secured both the Driver and Constructor titles. This feat was repeated in 1985 after six more Grand Prix victories.
Mansour Ojjeh took delivery of his own F1 road car in 1995 (chassis 036, Pale Blue Metallic).
Aziz’s car was delivered three years later. He requested a unique colour combination of Yquem paint with a black leather interior and orange inserts for the driver’s seat and steering wheel. Other bespoke touches included a wooden gear knob and wooden inserts for the handbrake lever.
The one-off paint colour selected by Aziz was a reference to the Chateau d’Yquem brand of Sauternes wine produced in the vineyards of southern Bordeaux. Like 075, the wine’s golden orange colour changes according to light conditions.
Soon after completion, chassis 075 starred in a series of photographs that featured prominently in the official McLaren F1 book, Driving Ambition.
Upon delivery to Geneva, chassis 075 was registered GE 593 808.
Aziz Ojjeh retained the F1 until 2006, at which point he sold it to his brother. Around the same time, Mansour Ojjeh sold his Pale Blue Metallic F1 to a US collector.
Chassis 075 currently remains with the Ojjeh family following Mansour’s death in June 2021..
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: McLaren - https://www.mclaren.com
