[GTO]

A couple of miles from the stunning new McLaren Technology Center in Woking, England?where workers are ramping up production of the Mercedes SLR sports car in anticipation of the first spring deliveries?sits a piece of automotive history.

Eleven years since the first F1 was made and five years since creation of the 64th and final road version, McLaren Cars is releasing one last unregistered example of the world?s fastest road car and is offering it for sale at a record-breaking £1 million. Except at an auction, no other essentially new production road car has been priced so high.

For almost a decade, chassis No. 65 (McLaren has a strange numbering system) has been window dressing in McLaren?s flagship showroom on London?s Park Lane. Millions of tourists gawked at the silver dream machine as their open-top buses pulled up outside. But in late 2003, McLaren replaced chassis No. 65 with XP5?the record-breaking version that achieved 240.1 mph on March 31, 1998.

?It?s like something frozen in time. A brand-new F1 put on ice, if you like,? says McLaren Cars? head of customer care, Harold Dermott.

?Although we have to be careful how we use that ?new? because it is clearly five years old, but here is an F1 with delivery mileage only, never been registered, never been sold by McLaren.?

Delivery mileage for a McLaren F1 is about 130 to 200 miles. Each example was exercised at a proving ground before hand-over to the owner. There is a lot to exercise, most notably the 6.0-liter BMW engine that propels the carbon fiber monocoque chassis car from zero to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and to a top speed of 200 mph.

?When you pick up your A-Class or your Smart, it is likely you?re very keen that it?s got less than 10 miles on the clock?to make sure that someone hasn?t been using it,? says Dermott. ?With the F1, that is not a concern as 140 miles is typical, and that ran the car through a comprehensive range of sequences including some high-speed running.?

For a while McLaren deliberated what to charge for this historic machine. A typical price for a used version is about £700,000 ($1.32 million). Some have been sold secondhand for close to the £1 million mark?based on previous owner, specification and chassis number. Prices suffered after 9/11.

?We think it?s a very reasonable price,? says Dermott, who reveals that the car has actually been available since before Christmas. He thinks that the car has not yet sold has nothing to do with price.

?Each car has a price. That price might be realized in two weeks, two months or two years. There is no requirement to sell the car quickly. We are not car dealers. We are saying that this car is available and the right people know it?s for sale.

?We have interest from current owners. You have to understand there are several people who own more than one F1. It?s not unusual for someone to own more than one F1. One person has three.?

One-quarter of all F1s are in the United States. The Tonight Show host Jay Leno has chassis No. 15, but says he is not tempted to trade his in for the more historic chassis No. 65.

?I like the one I have,? says Leno. ?It is arguably the greatest car of all time. It does everything better, faster than any other car from 1900 to 2000. Nothing touches it. Even if the Bugatti Veyron ends up being faster, there is no comparison. The McLaren is a dancer; the Veyron a girl with big boobs.

?As for the price, I think it is fair. Legally, economically, it would not be possible to make a car like that again. Any of the modern supercars are at least 1000 pounds heavier.?

A handful of McLarens have been damaged in road and racing accidents, with a few having been destroyed, but Dermott hopes chassis No. 65 will be driven by its new owner. Although not before the transaction is completed.

?We don?t actually expect the purchaser to drive the car [before buying]. Either they want an F1 or they don?t,? says Dermott. ?[Once sold] we always like to see them run, but there are cars that will never turn a wheel, which makes us sad. But if that?s what the owners want to do with them that?s fine.

?The exciting thing is what lies ahead of it. Who will buy it, how will they use it, where will it go? Somebody now has an opportunity to make his or her own piece of history.?


Original Article can be sourced at

Autoweek

[v12]

i guess the sultan might pick this up.

[Dippy]

I would have bought that one... but my Enzo's waiting Sorry Ron... maybe if thers a next time

Cheers

[GTO]

I think that this particular example would be one of the most coveted from all the Mclaren chassis. For one, its would be registered new in 2004. Second, it was the famed showpiece where millions have gathered to ogle at this car. Lastly, it IS the final Mclaren to be sold.

GTO

[_Crazi4Speed_]

But i remember I saw couple of other Mclarens for sale..brand new never driven..just were there in the dealership for a while..ofcourse not registered in 04...one of them i think was a blue and the other an orange..

ofcourse it wouldnt be as historic as this..but ppl had options..


Cheers

[Rehaan]

Yeah,
though i wonder what exactly the showrooms maintainance procedure was for the car....
ie. even if the car is started once a week and stuff there are other issues like the water vapour collecting in the silencer etc that arent taken care of unless its taken for a long drive etc etc

cheers