Nearly 30x increase in value for the supercar of the 1990s
Just 64 F1s built, most remaining, few for sale
If you’ve just seen Gordon Murray’s new T.50 supercar and thought that maybe you’d like to pick up the original while you wait for the sequel to arrive, you might need to open your chequebook a touch wider. Because the original Macca F1 is now trading for more than £16m. That’s the better part of $28m Canadian, and it’s if you can find one.
When the McLaren F1 first appeared in 1992, it was like nothing ever before seen. A car that could explode past 380 km/h in a time where 300 was an epic achievement. 620 hp in a world of supercars under 400, and more carbon, gold, titanium, and other exotics than you could shake a stick at.
McLaren probably never made a dime off of the car, selling for £540,000 then (1.2m by then-current exchange rates), but thought to have cost much more to design and build.
The stying came from Peter Stevens, not needing massive wings and aero devices to maintain stability, letting it go faster and look much better. Just 64 road cars were originally built, and if one broke McLaren would send someone to mend it. Because there were only eight service centres in the world.
In 2006, according to Hagerty Price Guide, the cars were trading hands for about the same as new, normally an impressive feat for a car. But just a couple of years later prices had tripled, and it’s just grown from there.
Actor Rowan Atkinson sold his for £8m ($14.4m) in 2015, and while it had some pedigree, it had also been crashed, hard, twice.
Three years ago, one sold for £12.1m ($19.8m), and now the cars are valued, says Hagerty, at that £16m valuation at the top. So 30 years on, $3m for a T.50 might end up a decent bargain. And, chances are, if you can afford one you can afford both, for the ultimate Murray collection.
