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| © Image: RM Sotheby’s |
By
Alanis King, Jalopnik
There are a few things you learn as you try to navigate through the complex trickery that is life. One of those things is that no one but close family members actually puts in the effort to remember your birthday (thanks, Facebook), and the other is that if you have to request a price for something, it’s too expensive.
That second rule seems to be the case with a new listing at RM Sotheby’s, which is up for private sale instead of the company’s typical auction approach. It also last sold for $13.7 million, according to the Top Gear website.
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| © Image: RM Sotheby’s |
That listing is a McLaren F1, not to be confused with the McLaren Formula One team, whose cars continually break and have to hobble out of the way on racing circuits. This McLaren F1 is quite the opposite, actually. It’s a legend.
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| © Image: RM Sotheby’s |
The RM Sotheby’s listing says this F1 is the 63rd and penultimate road-spec F1 made, built in the summer of 1998, three years after a McLaren F1 race car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fittingly, the listing says it’s one of two F1s that got upgraded to a Le Mans-spec engine outside of McLaren’s five-car run of Le Mans-spec road F1s. That means this F1 has engine parts from the Le Mans F1 GTR, making it good for 680 horsepower at 7,800 RPM compared to the regular F1’s 627 HP.
The car also has a mean downforce package on it, with a tweaked nose design, additional front wing vents and a “more aggressive rear wing.” But like most expensive supercars, that package hasn’t been used much—this F1 has less than 4,000 miles on it in its 20 years of existence, according to the listing.
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| © Image: RM Sotheby’s |
RM Sotheby’s also said being outside of that five-car run of Le Mans-spec F1s makes this car cheaper than one of those despite getting the same engine, but, uh, the price is still upon request. Take all of that as you wish, depending on how many numerical figures your bank account has in it.
But remember, no matter how many figures your bank account does or doesn’t have, or whether your can afford this car, most people still only remember your birthday because of Facebook. At the end of the day, we’re all the same.
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