Once a year, Pebble Beach in California becomes something of a Goodwood for the States.
That is, a celebration of fine cars, not so much driveway-racing.
This year the auctions will impress as they always do, with two of the ultimate expressions of the McLaren brand going up for auction.
The first, and rarer of the two, is a 1995 McLaren F1 which was the United States’ first road legal F1.
As a piece of supercar history and an engineering marvel, the McLaren F1 deserves attention whether it’s in pristine condition or not.
The fact it was the first production car to feature a carbon fibre monocoque body and could hit over 390km/h is hall-of-fame-worthy, however, this one is particularly impressive.
Chassis number 44 is a one-owner car, is almost completely original, and the 468kW V12 has only travelled 15440km.
As only one of 64 road cars, the F1 is undoubtedly going to fetch big bucks, but how much Bonhams estimates is uncertain, as it has not listed an estimated price for the lot.
However, in 2014, a three-owner F1 was offered at Gooding & Co’s Pebble Beach auction. Its listed estimate was $12m-$14 million USD, though bidding only reached $10,750,000 and the car remained unsold.
That means this one could go for around $18 million AUD. Or more.
Next up, and at a much more achievable $2.5 million USD ($3,170,000 AUD) is a McLaren P1, built in 2015 and part of a run of cars a bit more populated than that of the F1.
It’s number 291 of 375, and comes with its own 673kW hybrid twin-turbo V8. With fewer than 1600km on the odometer, the Supernova Silver P1 matches its low-km ancestor quite nicely.
Even though it’s got a lower electronically-limited top speed of 350km/h, it’ll hit 100km/h in 2.8 seconds, about 0.4s before the F1.
Mecum Auctions heralds it as one of the main attraction of the Monterey 2017 auction, but it’d be far more attractive if it was parked next to the F1…
