- Title: AUCTION-CARS/MCLAREN Car lover's dream, McLaren F1 supercar to be sold at auction
- Date: 3rd June 2015
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JUNE 03, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF SOTHEBY'S
- Embargoed: 18th June 2015 13:00
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- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9Y6Z60JYV0W2J4HETXDDE3IDZ
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- Story Text: Deep-pocketed car lovers will have a chance to buy a rare McLaren F1 when it goes on the auction block this summer, as part of a sale of a private collection of some of the world's finest sports and supercars.
The 1998 orange, three-seater F1 "LM-Specification" car is one of the highlights of The Pinnacle Portfolio, a collection of more than 20 post-World War Two cars that is expected to fetch a total of more than $65 million in a standalone sale on Aug. 13 by RM Sotheby's at California's Monterey 2015 Classic Car Auctions.
The McLaren F1 is part of the single largest private collection that has ever been brought to auction.
"This car is from the private collection of a gentleman that would wish to remain anonymous. We're selling the car on his behalf in Monterey. He has a little under 30 cars that we will be selling for him in Monterey and I would say that this is one of the top three highlights of his collection. We expect this car to bring somewhere in the range of $12-15 million (USD)," said Ian Kelleher, managing director of RM Auctions.
The collection, which spans 57 years of automotive history and design, boasts some of the finest sports and racing automobiles of the 1950s and 60s and includes Porsches, Ferraris, a 1993 Jaguar XJ220, bookend Bugatti Veyrons and the final Enzo gifted to the late Pope John Paul II.
The McLaren, which is on display at Sotheby's New York headquarters in Manhattan, is one of two that were brought back to the factory and upgraded to the Le Mans race specifications.
"In 1998 McLaren built approximately 64 cars and then there were five LM versions that were built, and this is one of those five LM versions. It was converted by the factory to LM specification. That LM stands for Le Mans, which basically duplicated their racing efforts. So in many ways it is a road worthy, road going race car."
Another aspect that is unique to the McLaren F1 LM is the three seat configuration.
"The actual driver sits in the middle with the passenger on either side. That's obviously something that you don't see normally. But that certainly duplicates the racing heritage of the car and kind of gives you that feeling of being in a Formula 1 car center seat."
The car was originally purchased in 1998 for $1 million.
"It has the performance of a race car, the sound of a race car, the handling, 680 horsepower. It's an amazing car, it's breathtaking. Extremely invigorating especially when you hear it as well. So it's a very special car, they don't change hands very often.
Also up for auction as part of the seller's private collection is a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, chassis no. 6105 which is expected to sell for $15 million and a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider, chassis no. 1307 GT which is estimated at $9 million.
The sale will take place on August 13-15. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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