Hinduism inspired supercar! Meet Beatles-fame George Harrison's McLaren; check pics

George Harrison had many unique things like the "Om" symbol incorporated on each of the four-wheel hubs and Lord Ganesha idols in various parts of the car, including between carbon fibre sheets.

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Despite their continued popularity as one of the world's most successful bands, the Beatles are still considered a worldwide hit. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Love Me Do" are two of the Beatles' most famous songs. The band's lead guitarist, George Harrison, had a purple McLaren F1 car that was legendary within the automobile industry.

There are many things that make Harrison's McLaren F1 unique, including the fact that he incorporated the "Om" symbol on each of the four wheel hubs, which is inspired by Hinduism. An 'Om' is also written on the steering wheel.

Harrison added some other special touches to this car as well. For example, he made McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray insert Lord Ganesha idols in various parts of the car, including between carbon fibre sheets. This F1's chassis has a Gayatri Mantra written on it, and only Gordon Murray knows which Gayatri Mantra it is. Furthermore, the F1 is equipped with a light-up Ganesha idol between the seats.

Currently, Simon Kidston, a British car collector, owns this and six other McLaren F1s. These seven F1s will all be exhibited at the Retromobile Paris Exhibition. Harrison spent a lot of time in India, and he believed in Hinduism so strongly that he converted to Hinduism.

Speaking about the McLaren F1, it was the first-ever road-legal car made by the famous McLaren F1 Team from Formula 1. The McLaren F1 was one of the first cars to use a monocoque chassis built of carbon fibre and other expensive materials such as titanium, kevlar, and magnesium, as well as gold foil as a heat shield in the engine compartment.

The McLaren F1 used a BMW naturally aspirated, 6.1-litre, V12 petrol engine, generating 627 PS of power and 650 Nm of torque. The engine was mated to a 6-speed manual transmission that drove only the rear wheels. Controlling this beast of a car is not easy as it does not get any driver aids like traction control, ABS, stability control, etc.

The McLaren F1 has a top speed of 386 km/h and can do 0–100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds. McLaren's F1 was the fastest production car when it was launched and held that title for a decade before Bugatti Veyron took the top spot. McLaren's F1 car still holds the world record for the fastest naturally aspirated petrol-powered car.