McLaren, the Americas has produced a short film featuring Justin Bell and Jay Leno, showcasing the capabilities of the new McLaren 750S, some 30 years after Bell’s historic drive in the McLaren F1 GTR at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The film highlights the precision and technology of today’s 750S while celebrating the legacy of the McLaren F1 GTR and its success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was piloted to a podium by Justin Bell, Derek Bell and co-driver Andy Wallace.
In the film, Leno also showcases his personal McLaren F1, renowned for its groundbreaking design and performance. At the time, the McLaren F1 represented the pinnacle of automotive engineering, as the new McLaren 750S does now. This crossover bridges the gap between McLaren’s storied racing history, and today’s supercar.
Said Bell of the capabilities of the 750S: “(With the F1) I had a six-speed manual, just over 600 horsepower. I had to be so delicate with the manual shift gauge. And yet here, I have these electrifying, downshifts, upshifts, from the seven-speed gearbox, that I could’ve only dreamed about back then!”
Bell continues: “You know how they say that the Apollo 13 mission ran on technology inferior to a modern-day iPhone? If that’s the case, then my F1 GTR from 1995, was a British red phone box, and this is a supercomputer.”
Leno, a legendary automobile collector and former late-night television host, said of the 750S: “I’m so impressed with McLaren as a car company because you really do feel your one with the car when you’re in there. The difference is really in driving it. … How is it different from other cars? Well, when you drive you really can tell.”
Watch the Justin Bell/Jay Leno x McLaren 750S Film here and look out for the final scene that, on the anniversary of McLarens famous debut at Le Mans, hints at something special to come from Justin and Derek Bell.
