Almost exactly month to the day, it was revealed that one of the most hallowed cars in New Zealand's supercar fleet would be crossing the globe to go up for auction at Monterey Car Week.
Well, if you were hoping to slot in a cheeky bid on Andrew Bagnall's incredible 'one of two' McLaren F1 LM-Spec 'High Downforce Kit' and GTR V12-powered hypercar, I've got bad news — it's already sold.
Photos / Andrei Diomidov, RM Sothebys
Offered by RM Sothebys, the rare (to put it lightly) McLaren was expected to sell for between US$21m–$23m, placing it firmly in record-setting territory. The most expensive McLaren F1 to sell previously was chassis No. 44, which sold at Bonhams' Quail Lodge auction two years ago for US$15.6m.
The McLaren F1 HDF didn't sell inside the expected RM Sothebys price window, but it did manage to topple that record.
Read more: This is not a drill — $1.8m McLaren Senna hypercar up for sale in NZ
When the gavel dropped, pricing ended at US$19.8m, or an estimated $30.7m — a new and clear world record for McLaren F1 sales and approximately $10m more than what a standard, well kept F1 would be expected to be worth in today's market.
That price isn't the end of it, though. The buyer (who remains unknown) will also pay an additional 10 per cent on top of the winning bid to auctioneers RM Sothebys. The total amount for them to pay will therefore land at around $33.8m.
In the build-up to the exclusive Pebble Beach event, the McLaren had garnered plenty of interested eyeballs. Forbes included in their nine coolest cars up for auction, while the auction-house themselves labelled it 'history's most revered modern supercar'.
“The record sale of this F1 is bigger than just the price paid, regardless of its pre-sale estimate,” said Hagerty valuation expert Greg Ingold.
“It speaks to the importance of the car and how it has defined what we recognize as a hypercar today.”
Wherever this unique McLaren F1 is off to next, we wish it the best. I think I speak for most when I say that New Zealand's collective of four-wheel enthusiasts is very sad to see it leave our shores.
