A $ 19.8 million sale proves that we should all go back in time and buy a warehouse filled with McLaren F1



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There are some cars whose values ​​have gone up so much that we should all blame ourselves for not having stocked them decades ago. The air-cooled Porsche 911s and the mid-2000s Ford GTs come to mind, but one of the kings of vintage car appreciation is the McLaren F1, one of which was recently sold for 19 , $ 8 million in Monterey.

Yesterday was the last day of Monterey's Car Week, a celebration of ostentatious wealth, big hats, bad pants, old liquor and cars. Car shows and many auctions were organized this week. RM Sothesby's notably organized a McLaren F1 1994, an ultra-rare specification "LM", which was to earn between 21 and 23 million dollars.

According to Hagerty, it was finally sold for $ 19.805 million, but it seems to be the most expensive F1 ever sold at auction. And it's remarkable, considering the fact that the other LM-spec F1 (yes, "other", because there are only two on earth according to RM Sothesby) s & # 39; is sold for $ 13,750,000 in 2015. (It was then put on private sale in 2018, I do not know how much if he went for it, then, but I bet it was over.)

If you're curious about this "LM" specification and why this F1 has such an incredible rear wing, RM Sothesby describes it on his website by writing:

Following the completion of full production in 1997, McLaren upgraded two "standard" F1 road cars to LM specifications, including an engine upgrade to the unrestricted specification of the 680 hp GTR. Serial number. 073 (that RM Sotheby's also had the honor to offer for sale) and the car presented, serial number. 018, were further equipped with the extra-high support force kit that included (and exceeded) the bodywork effects of the LM examples, including the front vents and the rear wing. Notably, these two cars keep their interiors more comfortably equipped compared to the more spartan LM trim.

The auction company also describes where the engine gets its extra energy by writing in the 1998 car auction list:

These engines were optimized with parts derived from GTR race cars to deliver 680 hp at 7,800 rpm, which was accomplished by increasing the compression ratio, changing the cams, using different pistons, and exchanging flow meters for pressure sensors. No. of chassis. 073 has also been updated with larger radiators, to provide additional cooling, and a sport exhaust. It's one of only two F1s to be equipped with an LM engine.

To be honest, even if I was 20 years old, I still would not be able to afford an F1. Partly because I was eight years old at the time and also because F1 still displayed high six-figure prices. But Jay Leno managed to get his hands on it, and earlier this month, when he was promoting his new show, Jay Leno's Garage, he told CNBC how big the investment was.

"I bought my McLaren F1 in 1999 for $ 800,000 and the last bid I got was $ 17,500,000," he told the animator. According to my basic inflation calculations, $ 800 in 1999 represents about $ 1.25 million in modern currency. So Jay does not seem to care that F1 was a solid investment.

Damn, I knew I should have kept my money instead of spending it on Pokemon cards.

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