The McLaren F1 - NOT the 'New' car for sale - we're not allowed to show that picture!
As we’ve said before, the McLaren F1 has proved to be not only an incredible car, but a very sound investment. From a selling price of around £600k when they were launched in 1995, you can expect to pay somewhere north of £2 million for one now, and a fair bit more for an exceptional one.
But with only 64 road cars made (plus the handful of LM models – which would set you back considerably more), and the ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with the modern ‘Best Car in the World’ title holder – the Bugatti Veyron – it should be no surprise that they fetch such high prices. And if any more McLaren F1s set on fire, as we reported recently, the ones left will all go up in value.
The benchmark for prices on the McLaren F1 was set in November last year when RM Auctions sold McLaren’s own Park Lane Showroom car for $4.5 million. But that car was exceptional. It had sat in the Park Lane Showroom for years, and was finally sold by McLaren after the showroom was closed. So it was in many ways the last ‘new’ McLaren F1.
But we’ve discovered a car the equivalent of that F1 for sale. It has had just one cosseting owner from new, and has only done 200 miles since it left the factory. Stored in a private collection it has been meticulously maintained and is, to all intents and purposes, another ‘New’ McLaren F1. It even has all the goodies that came with the McLaren F1 originally – which includes things like a bespoke Falcom Tool Chest and a bespoke Tag Heuer Watch – some of which are still in their original bubble-wrap.
I find it astonishing that someone could own such a wonderful car and never drive it. But I suppose for some it’s about the owning, not the enjoying. And this particular owner does have a pretty remarkable collection of cars. Why is he selling his F1? No idea, but I suppose the current economic climate may have something to do with it.
I suppose the question everyone wants answered is ‘How Much?’. We’re not allowed to say, but we can say it’s not as much as the Park Lane car went for, but it’s a chunk more than the starting price for a well used one.
Time to raid the piggy-bank?!
McLaren F1 Photo Gallery
[nggallery id=643 template=customlinks]
sean oconnor says
F! 6OSS cherished number plate held on 10 yr dvla certificate of retention a must for your super car. discretion assured . All sensible offers considered. No scammers, dealers or chancers thanks.
sean O'Connor says
Hi everyone I have for sale reg number F1 6OSS, suitable for Exotica.Now on 10 yr dvla retention and ready to go! offers invited over £10k.
sean oconnor says
Offered F1 6OSS The ultimate number plate on dvla retention and ready to put on your Super car!
Barney says
Nice car, but I still prefer my plumbing van lol
Sky is the limit.. . says
A LM would fetch 15$ million dollars (9£) million sterling pound.. .
Al Snr and Jnr.. .
Robin says
To CarsUK:
I find it outreagous that the Sultan of Brunei was given the right to buy 3 LM’s when they were only 5 made available to the public, McLaren should have made a rule of not selling more than one McLaren by client no matter how rich they were.. Let’s put it this way: if the Sultan of Brunei had the means to buy all 64 F1 road cars then McLaren would have sold them all to him ?? U get my point? It’s just not right that they allowed 3 of the 5 LM’s ever produced (for sale) to be in the hands of the same owner and unfair to other wealthy rich people who surely wished to have an LM.. That’s what I think. It’s all about money in the hand and no about being selective at all, giving away 3 LM’s to a same owner for the sake of money is just wrong! And I personally condemn McLaren point of view on this deal with the Sultan of Brunei.
Would appreciate a feeedback (and anyone else is welcome too)
😉
CarsUK says
We certainly understand the sentiment. But you’re looking at this with the benefit of hindsight.
It’s true that McLaren only intended to produce 5 LMs. But the regular F1s didn’t exactly fly of the shelf. There was no pre-ordained plan to just make 64. They decided to stop because they couldn’t sell them, believe it or not. In fact, despite the roughly $950k price tag, one of the last cars sold for only $400k. So the fact that the Sultan of Brunei wanted 3 LMs was a gift to McLaren, because no one else was looking to buy.
But this i often the case with what ultimately become hugely desirable cars. You could have picked up a Ferrari 250 GTO for just a few thousand pounds in the ’70s, at around the same time as British Leyland were giving their managers V12 E types as company cars because they couldn’t shift them.
Hindsight is glorious. But it distorts reality.
Robin says
Very interesting as I wasnt aware of the details you have given and I really much appreciate your kind and prompt reply.
“Funny” thing is that now and 13 years later a MacLaren F1 became one of the most sought after Supercar after chassis 065 sold for over £2.5M when as you mentionned back in the days they had to stop the production (abort?) and one of the last sold for under £400k.. And not to mention the financial crisis we are living in.
As the middle social class got poorer then the wealthy ones got richer?
harrson leach says
this car is off the bomb and i would like to buy it for 400,000 now!
harrson leach says
jk lost all my money sorry!!!!!!!
Ian says
Back to the CarsUK article.
The tool chest is not Falcon – it is Facom. The TAG-Heuer watch is not bubble wrapped – it has small rounded box.
Ian says
Hi, mates
I don’t understand the argue point. Price is a market trick, it has nothing to do with the car itself. It’s all about passion too. If you really want something, and you can afford it, you’ll pay the market price regardless stupid it is or not. The cheapest F1(#068) was purchased by Frank Selldorf. He paid less than 400,000.00 GBP. The RM auction price in 2008 (#065) has started from 750,000.00 GBP. It was obvious that the red faced bloke had been burning to buy. Auction guys played the bull’s market trick.
The car itself didn’t change at all.
Andy says
Sorry, just to rectify my own error, the F1 GTR was £1.6m not £1.4, my error, although I have just remembered there may be an F1 for sale in Basel, Switzerland for 2 million euro’s.
Chester the Molester says
Which city in Canada has one for sale?
Andy says
Hi guys,
Just came across this thread and thought I would add a little of my own knowledge.
There are a few F1’s on the market at the moment, all are quoted at 2 million dollars and above, so that is well past a million in £’s.
As for the price of a converted F1 GTR to road use, well an example was recently up for sale through a well known Ferrari specialist and the price was £1.4 million, and I agree with the CARSUK reply, this example was very basic for road use, it had no left hand passenger seat as this space was taken up by race equipment, the interior was that of a race car and I can only imagine the pain given by the suspension set up on UK roads!!! Interestingly the car was for sale for several months despite it’s rarity.
Danny is way off the mark with his comments, is he seriously saying that an F1 goes for less than an Enzo? Even a “well used” Enzo goes for £800.000 plus. He also says the price varies dependant on the location of the car, that’s clearly rubbish, the cars that I know of that are currently on sale are located in America, UK, Japan and Canada, they all are around the same price because if you are in the market for an F1 you maight just be able to afford the shipping!!!!!
Robert says
Make up your minds which currency are you talking in $2 million is actually only £1 million. so if your paying £670,000 for a car and then paying $2 million, that’s now £1 million in British pounds.
yes the cars are holding the price but putting down that cars are bough for £1 million but selling for $2 million is ridiculous talk in one currency
CarsUK says
We sort of understand your point. The original comment by Danny quoted prices in GBP, so we responded to his question by saying we know of two that have gone for over £2 million. But as most F1 sales are conducted in USD we quote prices in that currency. Sorry if that’s confusing.
BTW, $2 million is actually £1.3 million. So even the very cheapest McLaren F1 you could find – and it would probably need $600k (£400k) spending on it at McLaren – will cost you twice the new price.
Danny says
A lot of people seem to think McLarens go for £2million + I dont know why that myth gets repeated so often but F1s go for pretty much what they sold for originally between ’94 -’98 ie £633k, they’ve risen slightly in value and values can vary a little bit depending on where in the world the car is located and what currency its being sold in. Oh and all McLarens ARE exceptional in condition, everyone Ive ever seen for sale is maintained regardless of cost, theres no such thing as a ragged F1 and unless theres some sort of world war there never will be. Thanks
CarsUK says
Sorry, Danny, but that’s incorrect. Over £2M is an exception but we know of two F1s that have sold for that (one publicly, auctioned by RM in November 2008, and one privately). The going rate for a good one is around $2.5-$2.75M, which equates to around £1.6-£1.75M, and an exceptional one – such as the one in this article – will make upwards of $3.5M. And there are ‘less than perfect’ cars around. Many have not been serviced much (McLaren wants it done every 9 months – and it’s expensive), a fair number have had accident damage and not been repaired by McLaren, and a number have been re-painted and re-trimmed outside of McLaren. That denudes the value, but even these cars change hands for around $2M.
If you can find an F1 that’s for sale for not much more than the original list price then we suggest you mortgage your house, sell your children and do whatever it takes to buy that F1. You’d make £1m profit when you sell it.
Richard says
Thank you for that reply cars uk, this Danny guy is posting all these comments on youtube over all the McLaren F1 videos saying that he knows everything about F1’s and that they aren’t worth any more than what they were in 93… I’ve told him he’s wrong and that he obviously knows nothing about F1’s. Yes chassis number 065 was a very rare example (of a very rare car) but even an F1 with more mileage is still not going to sell for less than £1 Million. I personally think if a LM comes up for sale I would expect it to go for maybe 4 or £5 Million +. Am I talking realistically or am I way off, of course it all comes down to who’s willing to pay for one and how many interested millionaires there are. Has a LM ever come for sale and I mean true LM not a GTR converted for road use.
Regards
Rich
P.S That comment about selling your kids was very funny and very true.
CarsUK says
Richard: Whoever Danny is he doesn’t have a clue about McLaren F1s. The figures we quoted in our reply to his assertion that they sell for what they did in the ’90s is accurate. As far as the McLaren LM is concerned you’re probably underestimating what you’d have to pay. The are are only 5 LMs in existence. Three are owned by the Sultan of Brunei (two of which are black (LM1 & LM4) and one of which (LM5) is Papaya Orange), LM2 is in the ZAZ museum in Japan and LM3 is owned by Ralph Lauren. There is one other LM – XPLM – which was the original prototype car and is owned by McLaren. That car will never be for sale.
The last LM sold was a few years ago now and it fetched double today’s cost for a regular F1. If you seriously wanted to buy one you would have to start with a bid of $10 million. It probably wouldn’t buy the car – but you’d get their attention.
Richard says
Thanks for your response,
I knew there were 5 Lm’s + the prototype and I knew the Sultan owned 3 and Ralph Lauren had 1 but never knew the existence of the 5th, so thank you for that info. I also never knew that not all of the Lm’s were Papaya Orange. I was under the impression all 6 LM’s were finished in Papaya Orange in memory of Bruce McLaren, unless of course the Sultan of Brunei had 2 re-sprayed black? Lastly isn’t the prototype LM called XP1 LM? Or again am I mistaken.
Also do you have any idea the number of GTRs that were converted back to road use (like the one Tiff Needell tests with the Enzo in fifth gear)
Many thanks for your help.
Kind Regards
Rich
CarsUK says
The five LMs were created to commemorate the five GTRs at Le Mans and were planned to be all in Papaya. But when the Sultan of Brunei wants three and two of them painted in black (with blue and yellow stripes on the side), that’s what you do! As far as we know there is just one prototype chassis and that is XPLM.
As far as converted GTRs, we’re not sure of the numbers. We’ve probably come across five or six (there are two up for sale at the moment we know of) but there are probably more. And they are as close as you’ll get to an LM (the LM uses the GTR’s engine with the restrictors off). They do however fetch less money than a regular F1 and despite the road conversion the ones we’ve actually seen are still very basic. Still a track car – just road legal.
Matt says
Dear CarsUK,
I’d like to contact you in private regarding info on GTR’s on sale.
Regards.
CarsUK says
The contact us form is the best way. All enquiries, questions and comments are read.
M says
HI GUYS,
I JUST READ YOUR COMMENTS THERE, ON THE NUMBTY “DANNY”, WHO OBVIOUSLY HAS NO CLUE WHATSOEVER WHEN IT COMES THE THESE CARS…AND PROBABLY ANY OTHER CAR INFACT.. ON THE PRICE OF THESE CARS ARE NOW $3 MILL USD AND NOW UPTO $5 MILL USD..DEPENDING ON MILES, SPEC (DFK ETC)AND ANY OTHER UPGRADES,,,EVEN 3 YEARS AGO A CAR WENT FOR £1MILL STERLING.
ANYWAY GOOD LUCK
M
darren jones says
TO SEAN OCONNOR EMAIL ME TO TALK ABOUT THE REG PLAT. EMAIL dazza7683@yahoo.com. look forward to hearing from you.
sean oconnor says
I can’t afford the Mclaren f1 but I do own the perfect reg for 1t….F1 6OSS any takers?
Zachary says
Hi how much are you selling the reg for and can it be used for a McLaren f1 replica?