Photography by Brian Bailey
Still Fastest After All These Years
June 4, 2002
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc(); "McLaren GTR")
McLaren also produced two special editions. To celebrate the 1995 Le Mans victories, it built five F1s—christened the LM. Designed to be as close to the racing version as possible, these street cars all shared the orange paint scheme that the late Bruce McLaren used in his Formula One and Can Am cars. Only three examples of the road-going GT were built, featuring a body reshaped to achieve the LM’s downforce but with less drag. (Click image to enlarge)
All told, only 100 of the F1’s multiple variants had left the McLaren factory when production ceased in 1998. So you want one? It isn’t impossible. Two or three become available each year, and you can expect to pay around $1.2 million. Although there have been private-party sales, McLaren offers a simple brokerage service for a fixed fee. “McLaren has dealt with the majority of sales since the end of production due to the relationship we have with our customers,” says Dermott. A retrofit after each sale starts with a seat fitting, and the car is rebuilt to the new owner’s specifications, including color, trim and options. Owners can count on absolute discretion from McLaren, as the company declines to discuss its customers—they won’t even divulge the cars’ locations.
It’s still the ultimate road car, even after a decade of relentless one-upmanship by the world’s supercar manufacturers. Concludes Dermott, “The performance envelope of the F1 is still unchallenged.”
advertisement
