Steve Nichols’ first gig in motor racing was joining McLaren Formula 1’s design team back in 1980, bringing his experience in carbon fibre to the McLaren MP4/1. His most well-known design is the almighty McLaren MP4/4, which gave the team 15 victories out of 16 races between Senna and Alain Prost and the Constructors’ Championship in 1988. Nichols then moved to Ferrari as chief designer and acted as Ayrton Senna’s race engineer, before working for Sauber and Jordan before rejoining McLaren.
Steve Nichols and CEO of Nichols Cars John Minett have drawn inspiration from the very first McLaren — the Group 7 sports prototype M1A — in order to create the Nichols N1A. The road-going car’s sole purpose is to deliver a thrilling driving experience — the exterior of the N1A is very similar to the M1A but is wider, longer, roomier, and more aggressive thanks to the hours spent in the MIRA wind tunnel maximising the car’s aesthetics and aerodynamics.
The aluminium and carbon fibre chassis is paired with double-wishbones suspension. Power comes from a Langford Performance Engineering 7.0-litre V8 engine pushing 650 hp. The six-speed gear unit is developed in-house, featuring a gear lever inspired by Senna’s 1989 Monaco-winning car.
The Nichols N1A is limited to 100 examples, with the first 15 cars numbered and badged, celebrating the 15 wins of the McLaren MP4/4.
