Technology
McLaren worth $34m has one of the most over-the-top features
This classic performance car is one of the world’s rarest and most desired machines, but there is one element that makes it more precious than all others.
The McLaren F1 is one of the rarest cars on the planet. And several features make the 1990s hypercar more precious than any other.
McLaren built just 64 road-going examples of the F1, only two of which were upgraded to Le Mans specification. Now one of those is up for auction at Monterey, California with an astronomical price tag.
Auction house RM Sotheby’s has listed the McLaren F1 “LM Specification” with a price guide of 19 million pounds ($34m).
However, the stratospheric price tag isn’t just due to its rarity.
Every F1 has an engine bay lined with pure gold. In total 16 grams were used for each vehicle.
The car up for auction has also had its V12 engine upgraded to produce 507kW, up from 467kW in standard form.
This power output puts it in rare air, even among modern supercars. Among the few to eclipse the 500kW mark are the Ferrari 812 Superfast, Lamborghini Aventador S and McLaren 720S.
The car‘s aero upgrade increased the downforce to cope with the extra grunt.
There were also a number of turn-of-the-century modern conveniences added including upgraded airconditioning and a radio with a CD player.
The car also has an odd seating layout with one centrally located driver’s seat and then two passenger seats set back from the driver’s pew.
With about 21,000km on the odometer, the McLaren is in great condition.
It isn’t the only piece of precious metal going up for auction at Monterey. One of the four Aston Martin DB5s built for the James Bond films Goldfinger and Thunderball is up for auction with a price guide of $US4million-$6 million ($5.9m-$8.8m).
It comes with original Q specifications, including machine guns, tyre slashers, bulletproof rear screen, dash-mounted radar, rotating licence plates and smoke screen dispenser.
Even if the McLaren fetches the anticipated $34m, it won’t come close to the most expensive car ever sold at auction.
That honour goes to a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that sold for $US48.4 million ($71m)at the same Monterey car auction last year.
A 1963 GTO sold privately in June last year for a whopping US$70 million ($102m) making it the most expensive car purchase to date.
Source: news.com.au
