Auction house RM Sotheby’s has announced the auction of a trio of special McLaren vehicles at this season’s final Formula One race in Abu Dhabi on December 5.
The trio of cars — a McLaren F1, GMA T.50 and the ultra-rare GMSV S1 LM — represent the Triple Crown: victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500.
Only one driver and one team have won all three in the past century. Johnny Rutherford won McLaren its first Indy 500 in 1974, and a decade later in 1984, French driver Alain Prost took the company’s maiden Monaco Grand Prix win, while JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya teamed up to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995.
Gordon Murray is the South African-born creator of the trio of cars going on auction in Abu Dhabi and a man credited with designing five Formula One championship-winning cars. The three vehicles represent his past, present and future.
1994 McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 road car is a lightweight unicorn that debuted in 1994. On auction at the Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week is chassis 014 — the 14th of just 64 road-specification examples, delivered new to the Brunei royal family and first finished in Titanium Yellow over black. The unit returned to McLaren’s Woking factory in 2007, where its livery was changed to Ibis White, and it was fitted with the High Downforce Kit and LM-specification interior.
The McLaren F1 wrote itself into the record books in 1998 with a 382km/h top speed, the fastest roadgoing car then. It’s powered by a BMW 6.1l V12 engine, and the three-seater car with the driver in the centre remains the fastest naturally aspirated car to this day and a sought-after collectible. It’s expected to sell for about $21m (R356m).
GMA T.50
The T.50 was launched in 2021 under the newly formed Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) enterprise. It follows the 1990s McLaren F1’s philosophy of a central driver steering and is powered by a naturally aspirated Cosworth 3.9l V12 engine developing 493kW at 12,100rpm. The top speed is 370km/h, while the car also recalls the Brabham BT46B Formula One car with a rear-mounted fan that creates downforce.
This is the first time a GMA T.50 has been publicly offered at auction, and the 35th of only 100 examples produced is painted in Harrier grey with gloss carbon accents over a Charcoal Alcantara, Chromite black, and Matrix orange leather interior. It’s valued at more than $5m (R85.4m).
GMSV S1 LM
Another GMSV S1 LM (Gordon Murray Special Vehicle — Special One Le Mans) is also being offered. Only five units are being built in this ultra-exclusive range, created to celebrate the famous McLaren GTR win at Le Mans in 1995. One example was auctioned at the Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix on November 21 for R375m, breaking the record of the most expensive car bought when new.
The S1 LM is a fusion of cutting-edge technology and space-age materials with the style of the McLaren F1 GTR. It is powered by a 4.3l Cosworth V12 engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. It’s expected to fetch more than $20m (R375m.)
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