Will This Be the Most Expensive McLaren F1 Ever?RM Sotheby'sMcLaren never wanted to take the F1 racing, but it was so fast that customers insisted; it won Le Mans in 1995.This 1996 F1 GTR actually competed in that race, and it's one of the nine fastest variants of the breed ever made.With brutish naturally aspirated V-12 power, it's the kind of supercar that you don't see anymore.In the 1980s, it was possible to have an argument over what the greatest supercar of all time was: the Porsche 959 or the Ferrari F40. Come 1992, the debate was over. Created by genius and bold-pattern-shirt enthusiast Gordon Murray, the McLaren F1 was a machine of such superlative performance that it remains basically unchallenged even today. Sure, you can buy million-dollar hypercars that might challenge it on the numbers, but the F1 still offers the kind of driving experience that's impressive enough to possibly outshine even the Ferrari 250 GTO.RM Sotheby´sJust over 100 were manufactured, making it very rare, and so a second debate emerged. If the F1 is the best supercar ever built, then which one's the best F1 of them all? One possible answer is coming up for auction next month in Monterey, and it might just end up being at least the most expensive McLaren F1 ever sold.AdvertisementAdvertisementMcLaren's Murray never intended for the F1 to be a racing car—he had the actual Honda-powered Formula 1 cars for that job. Instead, his design was intended to be the ultimate in road-going performance. He even benchmarked the automatic climate control of the Acura NSX he was driving at the time. Murray was known to be a bit dismissive of the V-8-bolted-to-a-go-kart feel of the F40, but neither did he want to create something technologically wonderful yet slightly soulless like the 959.McLarenInstead, the F1 was powered by a colossal 6.1-liter V-12 sourced from BMW, paired with a six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. It was rated at more than 600 horsepower, enormous for the time and respectable even now. In 1998, one of the prototypes set an official world record of 240 mph, making it the world's fastest production car at the time.However, three years earlier, the F1 had earned an even more impressive superlative. While not designed with racing in mind, it was so fast and well-balanced that owners clamored for a slightly tweaked version to take endurance racing. Eventually, McLaren relented, and the F1 promptly won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans outright. It was the last series-production road-going chassis to do so.McLarenThis race-prepped version was called the F1 GTR, and only nine were built. This example was the first of them and actually competed at the 1995 running of Le Mans, finishing 20th overall. Originally kept in McLaren's factory collection, it was then repurposed for road use and sold off to a collector.AdvertisementAdvertisementNot just any collector. Getting McLaren to take a road car that's been converted into a race car and then sell it back to you with license plates attached to it takes some connections. In this case, the collector was none other than Nick Mason, the drummer for Pink Floyd. Mason is known to be the sort of enthusiast you'd hope to meet, blessed with a collection that includes Ferrari 250 GTOs and Porsche 962s, but he's also the sort of decent chap who shows up and makes everyone bacon sandwiches when someone is doing a feature on one of his cars.McLarenThis McLaren F1 GTR, chassis number 10R, is basically as fast as the F1 ever got. It's a little lighter than the standard car, has a fixed rear wing, and comes with carbon-ceramic brakes for handling repeated lapping duties. The signature ketchup 'n' mustard livery is pure 1990s, and the car has been regularly exercised. Regrettably, said exercise included a couple of spectacular off-track excursions, but it was tidied up by a U.K.-based specialist on both occasions.The projection for what this car is expected to fetch is through the roof, and for good reason. A so-called standard F1 would garner eight-figure bids all by itself, but this is a car with genuine Le Mans pedigree, a reputation as the best and fastest of the breed. Also, the rock 'n' roll royalty of its provenance doesn't hurt either.RM Sotheby's projections are above $35 million, which would place this F1 GTR almost a third more expensive than the current record for F1 cars. That is a colossal stack of cash, but it's a tribute to the importance of the car. Draw up a list of the greatest supercars of all time, and you have to give the McLaren F1 at least a podium finish. And this is one of the best F1s McLaren ever made.➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsYou Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029
