McLaren’s F1 supercar indeed continues to surprise us with many of their unique points. Even now it’s still the world’s fastest production car with a naturally aspirated engine, and McLaren just built 106 F1s. Jalopnik went to McLaren and discovered another special aspect to the F1: a 20-year-old laptop. McLaren is still servicing the existing 100 F1s with a Compaq laptop dating back to early ’90s.
“The factor we require those particular Compaq laptop computers is that they run a bespoke CA card which is set up into them,” discusses a McLaren spokesperson to Jalopnik. “The CA card is an interface between the laptop software (which is DOS-based) and the vehicle.”
McLaren has been sourcing Compaq LTE 5280 laptops to keep servicing the F1s, however the firm is “working on a brand-new interface which will be compatible with contemporary laptops” so it will not have to keep searching for these ancient machines. In the meantime, a 20-year-old Compaq is the key to servicing among the world’s fastest production cars.
