When the hammer fell at $19.8 million (£16.34m) for this 1994 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’, it became the most valuable McLaren ever sold at auction.
And this was despite falling short of the $21-23m (£16.8-18.4m) it was expected to sell for.
Still, it’s an incredible price for an incredible car. It’s one of only two F1s upgraded to Le Mans specification by McLaren, meaning it features the GTR engine and an extra high downforce package that went above and beyond the coachwork effects of the original five LM cars.
It went to auction with RM Sotheby’s at Monterey Car Week on 16 August with 21,500km on the clock, having been enjoyed on some rallies and tours.
Four bidders vied for four-and-a-half minutes, the McLaren eventually selling to a private collector based in the USA.
In reaching $19.8m, the car surpassed the previous record for the most valuable McLaren sold at auction of $15.62m for a standard F1.
Another notable lot to sell at this auction was the 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype, chassis number GT/108, which achieved $7.65m, against a pre-sale estimate of $7m/9m.
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