One-of-two McLaren F1 LM Specification road cars for auction

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 22.07.2019

Expected to fetch between AU$30m to $33m at RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale

Monterey Car Week is the mecca of the car collecting world, with international auction houses bringing out the best of the best at Pebble Beach in August.

RM Sotheby’s annual Monterey sale is a frequent highlight of the calendar, and with under a month to go – they’re still announcing gobsmacking vehicles that will soon be up for grabs.

The latest lump of precious metal that they’ve announced to go under their gavel is a stunning 1994 McLaren F1 "LM Specification" – expected to fetch between US$21 million and US$23 million.

At the current exchange rate, those figures come out to an eye-watering estimate of AU$30 million to $33 million dollaridoos.

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Originally there were just six track-only F1 LMs, but a pair of "standard" road-going McLaren F1s were later converted to "LM Specification" to honour the F1 GTRs that won McLaren its first win at Le Mans in 1995.

The conversion to LM Specification saw a normal road-going F1 fitted with the F1 GTR’s uprated 6.1lt V12 that yielded a 72hp gain; as well as the installation of McLaren’s "Extra High Downforce Kit" which comprised of a larger fixed rear wing, fender vents and centrelock 18" wheels. Inside, there’s a full interior with all the road-going amenities with room for three people.

This car, chassis 18, is the first of the two F1s to be converted to LM Specification. It was originally finished in Midnight Blue Pearl over a black interior, however its second owner sent it back to McLaren for its LM Spec conversion in 1999 when it was repainted Platinum Silver Metallic and reupholstered in cream leather with beige alcantara accents by the factory.

The second LM-converted F1, was sold last year through RM Sotheby’s Private Sales division, after last being sold at auction in 2015 for AU$18.65 million.

Chassis 18 has had a few big-time collector owners over its lifetime, however comes from 12 years of ownership under the care of New Zealand-based collector Andrew Bagnall. The odometer reads just 21,439kms.

The McLaren F1 – even in "standard" guise – is one of the most sought-after modern collectibles that continue to appreciate as they so rarely come to market. Just 64 street-legal McLaren F1s were ever built, with chassis 18 representing one of just two upgraded by the factory. With a top speed of 386km/h, the F1 remains a more-than capable bit of kit, even by today’s performance standards.

RM Sotheby’s will send Chassis 18 under the hammer at their Monterey auction commencing on August 16. With its eye-watering pre-auction estimate, RM Sotheby’s describe it as one of the most valuable cars they’re offering this year. Values for the Big Mac are certainly a far cry from their low-point of around AU$650,000 back in the late 90s…

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