When a McLaren F1 sports car comes up for sale, it’s a special occasion.
That’s because only 63 of its kind were produced, and the lucky few who have had both the cash and opportunity to buy one don’t often let them go.
On Wednesday, prospective buyers gathered at an auction preview in New York to see one McLaren F1 in person, ahead of an August auction in Monterrey, California.
Experts say the F1, dubbed the fastest production car ever built, will likely fetch at least $12million at the auction, which is being organized by RM Auctions and Sotheby’s.
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English car company McClaren produced the McLaren F1 between 1992 and 1998. The model currently for sale is the F1, the model designed for everyday road use. But McLaren also built another 43 cars in varying models, including the LM (tuned versions), GT (longtail roadcars), XP (prototypes), GTR (racecars), and XP LM (LM prototype).
At the time, one of these cars took about three and a half months to make.
When it was released, British car magazine Autocar heralded the F1 as ‘the finest driving machine yet built for the public road’ and said that it ‘may possibly be the fastest production road car the world will ever see.’
The F1 lived up to those expectations in 1998, when it set the record for world’s fastest production car, reaching a speed of 240 mph with its 680 horse power 12-cylinder engine.
Video: Rare red McLaren F1 supercar to be sold at auction
Among the rich and famous owners of McLaren F1s are retired late-night talk show host Jay Leno, fashion designer Ralph Lauren, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and the Sultan of Brunei.
Actor Rowan Atkinson was once a proud owner of a McLaren F1 but decided to sell his purple model in January, listing with Taylor &Crawley for $12million.
Before that, another McLaren F1 was sold for $8.47million at auction in August 2013.
Twenty two other expensive models will go for sale in the August auction, including models from Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Jaguar and Bugatti.
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