Other areas of the car too were unfinished or kept under wraps. For example the radiators shown off on the ‘naked’ roll out car were dummies, the definitive versions were needed in the build of the test chassis. It is one of just two teams to hold a traditional launch event (the other being Virgin) and this is the reason that the car shown was incomplete. The entire car, including the proprietary transverse gearbox, was placed on a diet, almost completely off-setting the additional weight of the V12.McLaren rolled out a partially completed MP4-26 in Berlin. Most changes focused on accommodating for the dimensions and added bulk of the new V12 engine. Once again designed by Neil Oatley, it was clearly a development of the existing MP4/5 design, which had won back-to-back titles in 19. During the second half of 1990 two of these MP4/5Cs were tested by the team at various venues.īy January of 1991, the new MP4/6 was ready to commence testing.
It was installed in a modified MP4/5 chassis for an extensive test and development program. Displacing just under 3.5-litre, the first RA121E was ready in the summer of 1990. Honda engineers believed this would be more than compensated for by a higher output. Known as the RA121E, the new Honda V12 was slightly bigger and heavier than the existing ten-cylinder engine. The increasingly competitive package of the Adrian Newey-designed Williams and Renault V10 engine prompted Honda to develop an all-new V12 for the 1991 campaign. McLaren and Honda started their successful partnership ahead of the 1988 season and would go on to dominate the next three World Championships, originally with a twin-turbo V6 and later with a naturally aspirated V10.
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