Home » Shop by Scale » 1:18 Scale »

McLaren MP4/4 Japanese GP World Champion 1988 Ayrton Senna in 1:18 Scale


loading...
This fine High End Resin Model is Manufactured in 1:18 Scale by Amalgam.
The McLaren MP4/4 goes down in the annals of Formula One history as one of the most successful Formula One car designs of all time. Although it competed in the 1988 FIA Formula One World Championship it still to this day holds the record as the most dominant single season car to complete in Formula One, winning all but one race and taking all but one pole position with its drivers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
The McLaren MP4/4 was the first McLaren to benefit from Honda power. The 1987 season, by comparison, was a poor year for the British squad, using the by this time unreliable Porsche-built TAG V6 unit. Since the 1985 championship, Honda had demonstrated that it had the best engine and, with 1988 being the last year of the turbo engines prior to new rules being introduced, McLaren went all out to benefit from its new engine partnership. This strategy was in stark contrast to that of the majority of other teams such as Ferrari and Tyrrell, who based their cars on updated versions of previous seasons cars in order to focus their efforts on all-new 1989 contenders.
The new low line chassis was straight out of the gene pool of Technical Director Gordon Murrays Brabham BT55 from 1986 season. Murray had always wanted to try his new chassis design with a V6 engine, which is much smaller than the straight 4 unit used in the BT55. The chassis design had a marked impact on driver seating position and the McLaren MP4/4 is often considered a forerunner of the current Formula One cars which all sport the recumbent driving position as standard.
THE AMALGAM COLLECTION AT 1:18 SCALE
World leaders in the creation of precisely detailed large scale models for F1 teams and sponsors. Amalgam supplies the leading luxury and sports car manufacturers, builds bespoke models for owners of the real cars, and creates small editions for collectors of fine models worldwide. In motorsport and the high end car manufacturing industry Amalgam Collection models are commissioned by CEOs, team principals, designers and drivers.
Amalgams work is a powerful combination of art and technology using CAD data and digital scanning alongside timeless sculpting and very refined finishing skills to create models indistinguishable from the real cars in photographs.
Utilising their full and detailed data, their deep knowledge and experience, along with their close and important relationships with the creators, designers and owners of iconic cars past and present. Amalgam are now creating beautifully presented collections of models at 1:18 scale made to the same exacting standards that have made their large scale models famous.
Amalgams passion is for precision and their mission is to immortalise the most important and iconic car designs, current and historic.

  • DESCRIPTION
  • SCALE GUIDE

Having completed just a handful of laps in the new 1988 MP4/4, Alain Prost reportedly told Team Principal Ron Dennis that he knew the car would win the World Championship. And so he was proved, as the McLaren MP4/4, driven by Frenchman Prost and his newly signed Brazilian teammate Ayrton Senna, went down in the annals of Formula One history as the most dominant Formula 1 car of all time, with a win rate of 93.8%.

The MP4/4 won 15 out of 16 races, losing only Monza which many felt was a self-inflicted defeat, after Senna tripped over backmarker Jean-Louis Schlesser’s Williams-Judd in the first chicane. Senna won eight of those races to take his first World Championship, despite having been disqualified in the opener in Brazil. At the same time, winning a scarcely less remarkable seven rounds, Prost found himself just three points adrift of the top slot leaving McLaren’s nearest rival, third placed Gerhard Berger, literally miles behind. By the end of the season McLaren had scored a phenomenal 199 points in the Constructors’ Cup, almost three times the tally of runner-up Ferrari and a record that would stand until 2002. The duo’s qualifying record was equally as strong: Senna started on pole no fewer than 13 times with Prost qualifying first on two of the three other occasions.

The high level of optimism at McLaren, following the arrival of its new 1.5 litre Honda RA168E V6 turbo engine and of Ayrton Senna as Prost's partner, was not diluted by rule changes for the 1988 season. These brought in a further reduction in fuel capacity to 150 litres and a mandatory 2.8-bar turbo boost limit, the benefit of both in theory going to McLaren’s normally aspirated rivals, in a move clearly made ahead of the imminent ban on turbo technology which would come into effect for 1989. So swingeing was the fuel capacity rule that many expected 1988 to be a transitional year for the turbo teams rather than a winning one. But for McLaren, at least, it was to be nothing of the sort. With light overall weight, outstanding downforce, highly efficient brakes and suspension, a fabulous V6 and two of the best drivers of all-time behind the steering wheels, there is little doubt that the MP4/4 was McLaren's, and arguably the best-ever car Formula 1.

This fine model of the McLaren MP4/4 is a 1:18 scale replica of the car that Ayrton Senna drove to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1988, clinching his first Drivers’ Championship title. Senna qualified on pole 0.3 seconds ahead of his title rival and teammate Prost and a whole 1.5 seconds ahead of the nearest Ferrari in third. Prost made a superb start to and took the lead whilst Senna stalled, who was lucky in the fact that Suzuka had the only sloping grid of the year, allowing him to bump start his car. Knowing he had nothing to lose and everything to gain in this race, and with the Championship in his sights, Senna started his fightback from 14th place. His charge saw him gain six positions by the end of the first lap and, by the fourth lap, he was already sitting in fourth position. Lap 14 saw the weather come into contention as rain began to fall, benefitting the Brazilian wet-weather specialist. By lap 24, Senna was hot on the tail of Prost, who was suffering with a malfunctioning gearbox. When the pair came around to lap some backmarkers, as Prost was caught up with Andrea de Cesaris, Senna went past to take the lead and proceeded to set three consecutive fastest laps, setting a new lap record in the process. Despite Senna’s remonstrations to stop the race in the increasingly horrible conditions, the race ran its full distance and Senna finished a whole 13 seconds ahead of Prost. Senna’s win was the first of his three world titles and set a record for total wins in a season, previously held by Jim Clark and Prost.

These models have been handcrafted and finished in our workshops with the co-operation and assistance of McLaren Racing regarding original finishes, materials, archive imagery and drawings. The use of supremely accurate digital scanning of the original car has allowed us to perfectly recreate every detail at scale. Furthermore, it has undergone detailed scrutiny by both engineering and design teams to ensure complete accuracy of representation.

Note: This is a 'Kerbside' model and does not any feature moving parts.