Crikey: there's a McLaren F1 for sale

Stop what your doing and marvel at the holy grail of supercars

I’m at pains to admit this, but I was never all that interested in the McLaren F1 growing up. Shocking, I know, but when you’re nine years old and haven’t a clue who Gordon Murray, you overlook restrained-looking supercars like the F1 and gravitate towards the more attention-grabbing stuff like the Bugatti EB110, Ferrari F50 and the Maserati MC12.

Obviously, I’ve since revised my opinion and now lust after the F1 like every other person with a remote interest in cars. There’s the incredible, meticulous level of detail that went into its development, the BMW-developed V12 with a guttural howl like no other, and a design so timeless that Murray reissued it with seemingly only minor revisions for the five-strong GMA S1 LM a few months ago. The F1’s legend has become so immense that buyers have clung on to them for decades, stashing them in the depths of their collection while watching examples sell for six, seven, and now eight figures hoping for a payday of their own. Well, the owner of chassis 009 here has decided to pull the trigger. Form an orderly queue, billionaires.

You’d be forgiven for not knowing how much F1s change hands these days, because it doesn’t happen very often and, when it does, the money involved is so astronomically expensive that it’s almost not worth paying attention to. So, for reference, the last F1 sold at auction went for $20,465,000 (or £15.6 million with today’s exchange rate), which doesn’t quite put it into Ferrari 250 GTO territory but it did set a record for the most expensive F1 sale. Another is due to go under the hammer next month is guided at similar money. That one, however, is an ex-Brunei car with an LM-style high downforce kit, so don’t be surprised if it sets a new auction sale record.

What about this one, then? Chassis 009 here (apparently the eighth car produced, confusingly) was built in 1994 to quintessential F1 spec. Not that there were many options when the F1 came out, especially given the anything goes approach of most supercar makers today, but silver seemed like the perfect representation of the car’s advanced nature while also highlighting the intricate details of that superb Peter Stevens design. The interior, meanwhile, amplifies all the light pouring in through the vast wraparound windscreen with grey passenger seats and headlining. The driver’s seat is black, cocooned by exposed carbon fibre tunnels containing the hifi-like switchgear. Perfection.

In the years preceding the F1’s arrival, McLaren has grown into a powerhouse both on and off track, and customers have been able to take their F1s back to Woking for additional personalisation touches not originally available at launch. That’s why you’ll see some cars with bigger wings or motorsport-derived wheels. But this car is all original as far as I can tell, with no dive planes in sight and still wearing the 17-inch cast magnesium rims it originally came with.

What’s particularly remarkable about this immensely remarkable supercar is that it’s actually been driven. Its two previous owners, the most recent of which has had the car for two decades, have racked up 10,522 miles, which, yes, is a tiny amount in the grand scheme of things, but not half bad for the car equivalent of the Mona Lisa. Whether that means you’ll be able to get it for less than the auction record-setter will require asking the seller how much they want for it, but if you’re in the lucky position to be seriously considering this, then just know it comes with all its factory accessories and a fresh major service from MSO, which can’t have been cheap. Now, pick up the phone, start dialling and go grab yourself the supercar everybody wants.

See the original advert

OP Posts Only

Prev 2 3 4 5 Next

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

Red6

Original Poster

578 posts

75 months