Looks to me like the word Potenza is backwards in that shot, the 'Z' definitely is... thus making it reflection perfection.

Which tyre brand starts with the letter 'AZ'

AZNETOP tyres!

Anyway thanks for all the laughs today everyone, I'll buy you all mirrors for Christmas this year so you can have more fun with this amazing invention.

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/photolarge.php?p...7188&catID=3841

I agree the Potenza is reversed. But so many perfect reflections? I think I need some sleep.

Strange about the clear plastic. It must flex, because it is thin, and is not a composite. A laminated plastics is not really a composite benefit to stiffness. A laminated plastic typically is used in films, to provide printing and air barrier benefits, and to allow thinner films to be produced hence reducing costs. Composites in race cars though have structural components - like honey comb structures - which when combined with stiff structures but thin carbon structure at the top and bottom of the cellular honeycomb structure, make very stiff and very light structures. My conclusion is that the plastic structure on the McLaren is designed to flex. Also it must cover at least part of the stiff carbon structure. Its covering of the carbon structure would have had to add weight to that carbon structure. Very curious.

McLaren is already playing mindgames

Post of the year.

The fin part is just VERY flat, pretty thin, dead centre and exactly vertical.
Precision!


Its the humps over the exhausts, and the small outlets below/inboard of those strange flat panels surrounding the pipes, that intrigue me.

Hot air is less dense. Warming lots of air on the underside of the wing therefore produces more downforce.
Clearly McLaren are trying something rather different to employ the exhaust (and maybe radiator) heat usefully.
But what/how?

Exhaust driven rear wings are not a new thing.

Can you see the edges of the window frame through it ? No

If it was transparent you would see the continuation of the perpendicular window frame there as well as the horizontal frame.

Best internet conspiracy ever.

Looks like they put a filter in the plastic that makes window pillars invisible too.

Those cheating b*****s!

If the thing was transparent the reversed '1' on the Mobil logo would put a dark shadow around the 'M' on the cars starboard side.

You know I thought I had seen everything until this one.

Transparent car parts - probably made from unobtainium

Soon we will have a the FIA oulaw them because they do not allow transparancy in anything

My point is that there's something distinctly unusual going on here.

I would have expected it to be more difficult to get thermal downforce from the higher wing. But it seems that rear downforce is at such a premium that McLaren are trying something strange.

But can someone explain what the thinking might be?

Those shapes are reminiscent of something from long, long ago. Fan car era? Chapparal? Just can't place it.

It's only transparent to car parts

I'd say the most unusual part is that illegal rear wing.

Well, either way the designers at McLaren are all going to be reading the forum tomorrow having a right laugh

Its quite amazing thou that in every photo the reflection is always lined up perfect

eg:

I had very few hours sleep last night, I blame it solely on that

And I was distracted as well, someone told me that gullible had been removed from the dictionary. They were wrong, I checked

Fascinating, Mclaren has developed a cunning cloaking device!

(it's a reflection btw, for the persistent believers. It's not amazing, it's how reflections work...

They line up because the car is symetrical

In the picture you posted what is the red and white blurred colouring runing down from the "1" in Mobil 1 visible in this picture?

It is the reflection of the Vodaphone on the rear wing.

it is blurred because the lower body work has curves in it, the "fin" is flat - hence it will reflect with less distortion, if any.

The new paint they used really makes a difference, the car is shinier and people are fooled with the reflection.

To all McLaren staff reading this: sorry to have made your morning tea come out your noses from laughing so hard.

I'm actually a bit worried that I might randomly join a cult now if they paint themselves silver and claim to be able to make themselves invisible...

You people have no idea was you have stumbled upon.

I know the truth, and I feel I have to share it now.

The truth is that sc*mb*g Ron Dennis has been cheating again. This time his spy is a mole inside Area 51. What you see in these photographs is technology STOLEN from the remains of the craft that crashed at Roswell.
It is an essential component of a 'time-distortion' drive. It will allow Dennis' pet Hamilton to win before the race has started !!!
And the Roswell stealth technology means you won't even see him cheating!

I know this is true because it comes from a very reliable source in the CIA. I know he's from the CIA because he dresses like a tramp, drank all the beers I bought him, and he wears sunglasses indoors!

I must go now, there are men in black at the door.


...Or are those white coats they are wearing?

Many Renault designers died to bring us this information.

But secreted into this little droid is the plans for the MP4-25



Inspired from technology from many years ago,
I am in the fortunate position to show what the McLaren matrix has being working on.
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Wonder Woman

With our ingenious cloaking technology, we will win every race - even Whiting will never notice!

Regardless of super-secret transparent aluminium (or something), I do like the looks of the car on track though! The old rear wing helps, I suppose. The Renault looks really weird, judging by the pic on this thread.

Transparent aluminium (or aluminum as it's inventor erroneously called it) is far stronger than traditional aluminium. It was invented in 1986 in San Francisco by a Scotsman.

But which is really better?

Traditional Aluminium or Transparent Aluminium?

Transparent Aluminium is better. You can see through it. Duh !

It would really make for an interesting engine block - you can watch the pistons and see why it went KaBoom

I would believe in transparent aluminium before I would belive in transparent carbon fibre.

If it were transparent you'd clearly see the 1 from "Mobil 1" transposed from the other side under the M. Similarily you'd see the Z from "Mercedes Benz" transposed under the M. This is a very lucky shot as the car is in motion.

These last two pages really made my day!

i cant believe the idiots that have spent two pages going on about bloody reflections, who cares? wqhats the weather like in Portugal today?

Seems to be CLEAR..... AHhahahahahahah I'm hilarious.

It's only January 20th and we have seen clear favotites for 'post of the year' award. All in this thread...

I only cautgh up this morning with this thread last 3 pages and I could not believe my eyes when I understood that 'Transparency International' group were actually SERIOUS in their posts.

Now I am off to face the bathroom mirror.

LMAO

Classic couple of pages of posts there

What are the chances?

This is a bit like the (pre 2007) annual Ferrari fans' 'is it zero keel' debate.

When the thing was zero keel, it was damn obvious. I think the same will be true here

"What? Transparent?"

Ok, I'm 99,9% sure that is just a reflection, but in this picture you can see an "e" (or part of it), but that should be a "v" because it's the reflection of the other side

Oh my, this thread is a classic; I haven't read anything this funny on this board in months!

If you put a flat mirror exactly on the symmetry plane of a symmetric object, just what exactly do some of you think you will see? It's not a coincidence that from all shots the images are perfectly matched, it's exactly what's expected!

Seriously, that would totally deorganize work for quite some time. 'transparent aluminum'. 'too symetrical to be a reflection'. Staff at Woking is peeing in their pants.

I`m pretty sure you see the refletcion of the "o".

It looks like the bottom of a 'v' to me, nothing like an 'e'. It certainly doesn't line up with the e anyway.

To be honest, I think Ron should come out with a public statement on this matter, top priority

Well, Whitmarsh recently called for more transparency in the rules...

Well guys, since I think I was the one to start the transparency talk, the more I look, the more I tend to agree it's a reflection. But what a perfect symmetry and smooth mirror surfaces, wow!

it is a reflection if you look closely there are minute changes in theline, looks cool though.

We need to start a poll to settle this.

Is there a way the voting options transparent?

I vote that it is a reflection. It's curious that no matter what picture you see, it is almost perfect, but we know that te cover is carbon and there is no reason for it to be a different material.