11:17 AM
The McLaren F1 supercar is spectacular--and now it has an eye-popping sticker to match: $4.1 million.
One of the cars sold for the gaudy price at an auction this week in London, and it’s thought to have set a world record. The final tally more than doubled the expected price, and the supercar was the highlight of the seven-hour sale that featured frenzied bidding for many cars from the standing-room-only crowd.
The McLaren was joined on the block by a 1965 Ferrari 250 LM Berlinetta and a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France that went for $3.6 million each. A 1938 Horch 853 Special Roadster went for $1.8 million, and a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante went for $1.1 million.
Perhaps the most valuable car, a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder--didn’t sell. Bidding topped out at $4.2 million--short of estimates it could go for at least $4.8 million.
Organizers said the hefty sale price could have a lasting impact on the supercar market.
“The … sale price redefined the market for these superb vehicles,” Max Girardo, managing director of RM Auctions European division, said in a statement. “The McLaren F1 is quite simply one of the most contemporary cars ever produced and tops a sale that has again shown that great cars attract great prices.”
RM and Sotheby’s organized the auction, called Automobiles of London.
