Saturday 30th April 2016

McLaren F1: You Know You Want To

2,800 miles on the clock, McLaren Special Operations maintained ... of course you want to!

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What to say about a McLaren F1 for sale by McLaren Special Operations with just 2,800 miles on the clock and the kind of matching numbers provenance that'd have dark stains appearing on Pebble Beach chinos faster than you can say 'price on application'?

'Yes please' would probably do for starters; just steel yourself before asking 'how much?' Our contact at MSO wasn't putting a number on it but did offer some pointers for what this car - chassis #069 - might make. "Values of F1s are very much dependent on the heritage, mileage and condition of the individual chassis concerned," says our man. "We would expect the value to be in-line with the higher price bracket of models sold in recent months, or possibly higher given the concours condition and extremely low mileage."

The current high water mark is the $13,750,000 paid last autumn at RM Sotheby's Pebble Beach sale for chassis #073. Built the same year as the car now on sale, #073 was converted by MSO into LM spec with the goal of creating "the finest and most desirable F1 on the planet", according to RM's publicity material.

All very well but might the fact #069 is completely original and hasn't been retrospectively updated make it even more desirable? That'll be down to the market. For MSO's part this would appear to be as close to a factory F1 as you could buy, the car kept and maintained in-house and now offered for sale on behalf of its owner.

"McLaren F1 chassis #069 is UK registered with all UK taxes paid and offered for sale exclusively through McLaren Special Operations Heritage division with fitted luggage, complete Facom titanium lightweight tool kit and Facom tool box, all books and literature, including the correct numbered LM Edition of the 'Driving Ambition' McLaren F1 book and limited edition McLaren F1 owner's watch," says the accompanying press release. Like you needed any further motivation to enter the Euromillions...

To MSO's credit it has done the decent thing, got the car out of hiding and taken it out for the stunning pictures you see here. A reminder, were it needed, why the F1 is still in a league of its own.

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MCLAREN F1 CHASSIS #069
Price: If you have to ask...
Why you should: As close to buying a new McLaren F1 as is possible
Why you shouldn't: You'll be in a bunfight with some very, very wealthy rival bidders

[73RS]

I don't buy all the F1 hype. They built very few - if you take out the ones crashed and used for racing, it leaves a tiny number - then it turns out that most, like this one, have hardly ever been driven. Legendary? Irrelevant!

[MrBarry123]

They're cool and all that but no, I wouldn't - they don't really do it for me and certainly not at the prices they fetch.

[unpc]

They don't do much for me either. Never been a fan of the styling.

[kambites]

73RS said:

I don't buy all the F1 hype. They built very few - if you take out the ones crashed and used for racing, it leaves a tiny number - then it turns out that most, like this one, have hardly ever been driven. Legendary? Irrelevant!

I think you could use that argument about every supercar. If they were common, no-one would covert them.

[Tom1312]

Wibble.

[Roberty]

I certainly like the F1 and it was a benchmark of it's time but...

I've never actually wanted one (not that I could ever afford one), they just don't get me excited enough to even daydream about one day owning such a thing and at today's prices they are even beyond even a Euromillions roll over winners means.

Nice but not for me thanks.

[WCZ]

beautiful! would be difficult to own that and not drive it though.

again prices have made it so absurdly expensive that you'd probably have to store it

[P-Jay]

2800 miles in 18 years, no doubt kept in some climate controlled vault so not to diminish the value.

It will sell for some terrific amount of money and be put away again for a decade before being wheeled out and sold for twice as much again.

It's not all that's wrong with the world today, but it's a major factor, I don't want to, I never would, even if I was a billionaire I wouldn't, I couldn't drive it because what's the point, it won't drive any better than say Mr. Bean's twice crashed 70k mile one, you'd be pouring it's value away, and I couldn't store it away as an investment because I'd be no better than the greedy kid who won't let anyone else play with his toys, and just wants to keep them because he think it makes his friend envious.

Gordon Murray wanted to make the best car in the world, but if you can't drive it, then it's not a car at all is it?

[AndyCooperS]

I hope someone buys it and uses it as originally intended. Shame otherwise for it to languish in a garage.

[epom]

Not only has it all of that amazing history and all the right bits. Its also in re-sale grey. This one will sell :-)

[EnglishTony]

If I needed an investment then yes please.

Sadly it's worth too much to drive.

[jmcc500]

Looks just like the model I had as a kid, though that had silver wheels. If only I had made different life choices!

[SirSquidalot]

Coming to a carcoon near you soon!

[BugLebowski]

Im sure it's been covered in the epic flemke threads, but to save me reading through all that gushing; why haven't other manufacturers or indeed McLaren reproduced the three seater layout in car since?

[belleair302]

Good grief, I possibly saw this car being made back i the day when I worked there.....amazing memories but so long ago now!

[williamp]

73RS said:

I don't buy all the F1 hype. They built very few - if you take out the ones crashed and used for racing, it leaves a tiny number - then it turns out that most, like this one, have hardly ever been driven. Legendary? Irrelevant!

legendary that, in detuned form they won le mans at their first attempt. And ushered in a great generation of GT racing (until the FiA...well, nevermind)

In terms of engineering and performance they moved the game on several generations. Before the F1, supercars could be bad. After, only excellence would do.

[Muzzer79]

I guess this shows the difference between people who aspire to be, or are already, millionaires (virtually all of PH) and billionaires who can afford to drop £14m and not even think about it.

If I was a billionaire I'd use it all the time.
Someone posted above that even if they were a billionaire they couldn't use it. Why not? I'd drive it to the tip if I wanted to with that kind of wealth behind me.

[J4CKO]

not for me, would be terrified to give it the Beans...

[Muzzer79]

J4CKO said:

not for me, would be terrified to give it the Beans...

Again, why?

If you can afford to drop £14m on a car then you can afford to not be precious about it.

I don't see Nick Mason tucking his GTO in a climate-controlled garage.

99.5% of things can be fixed, especially when a car reaches this value.

[anonymous-user]

2,800miles? WHAT A WASTE !!!!


Someone buy this and DRIVE IT!!


(no chance of that happening of course, poor little car)