Artist creates full-size McLaren F1 car entirely out of paper

We’ve seen a McLaren F1 car built entirely from Lego, and now we’ve been presented with this: a full-scale McLaren F1 car constructed solely from sheets of paper. Yup, it’s origami meets motorsport.

The creation is the work of Florian Weber, who spent his formative years studying car design before establishing a talent for building models out of paper.

Under the name Paperlegend he has a full-time job creating miniature sculptures, with a Ferrari F40, Mercedes G-Wagen, Lamborghini Countach and Porsche 911 among the incredible kits on his online shop.

Those go as low as 1:18 scale, though this one's life-sized. “When I started my journey as Paperlegend, I created 1:8 scale paper sculptures of legendary cars, but I had always dreamt of creating a full-scale paper sculpture of a race car,” he said.

“I never expected that the dream would become a reality, especially in partnership with my favourite team, the McLaren Formula 1 Team. Through VELO Love The Unexpected my passion for motorsport has been taken to the next level, with a paper racecar of epic proportions.”

The car you see above was painstakingly designed on a computer, before the countless components were cut out using a laser and assembled by hand. Can you imagine the build time if he’d used scissors?

“We are proud to have such passionate, driven and creative fans around the globe,” added Louise McEwen, McLaren Racing’s executive director, brand and marketing. “Florian’s paper sculpture of our F1 car is truly unique, and an inspiring representation of his dedication to McLaren.”