A special Formula 1 McLaren car model is set to sell for $23 million at auction in August. The car’s original owner was Larry Ellison, a billionaire who ranks among the wealthiest people in the world and is the co-founder of the software company Oracle.
The McLaren F1 is powered by a naturally aspirated 6.1-liter V12 producing 627 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque.
RM Sotheby’s will sell the McLaren F1 through an auction.
“Delivered to him in August 1997, Ellison kept his car for over a decade with 062 wearing a California vanity license plate “ORACLE8″, logging less than 2,600 miles, before it was purchased by another car collector and resident of the San Francisco Bay Area via Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley in 2005,” the auction listing read.
“That second owner then sold it at auction in 2010 to its current, third owner, having been driven less than 3,500 miles from new by that point.
“Remarkably, the car would stay in the San Francisco Bay Area with its new owner, making it likely the only F1 to have changed owners multiple times…but never changing its immediate geographic location!
“In March of this year, a detailed condition report was carried out by Kevin Hines, the aforementioned factory-authorized McLaren F1 technician based at McLaren Philadelphia.
“This report (which is available for inspection to qualified bidders) summarized that “it is evident that this vehicle has been well cared for during its current and previous ownership, being in very good cosmetic and mechanical condition.”
The auction for the car will take place from August 13 to 16 at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey event.
McLaren F1 Car History
The McLaren F1 remains a special car in the history of road cars. It was the first car in the world to achieve ground effect downforce.
Gordon Murray, the renowned Formula 1 designer, created the car based on his engineering achievements in the sport. In the early 1990s, F1 cars utilized this “ground effect” to generate massive amounts of downforce.
This technical development revolved around designing the floor and the underneath parts so that the car gets sucked to the ground.
Murray joined the McLaren F1 team from 1987 to 1991 as the Technical Director. In those five seasons, the team won four consecutive Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships.
These McLaren cars were among the best in F1 history, driven by the legendary Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
The designer transitioned from the sport to create a line of road cars that incorporate the advanced technology of the F1 cars.
His first model was the McLaren F1, which debuted at the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix.
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