RM Sotheby’s sold a Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1 LM for over $20 million at the Las Vegas 2025 auction.
RM Sotheby’s sold a still-to-be-built Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1 LM for $20,630,000 in a special auction during the Las Vegas 2025 F1 Grand Prix weekend. The car is in homage to the five LM versions Murray designed of the F1 following the McLaren victory at Le Mans in 1995.
Gordon Murray SV1 LM Sold at RM Sotheby’s Las Vegas 2025 Auction
In a special auction, RM Sotheby’s sold the first of only five to be produced Gordon Murray Special Vehicles SV1 LM hypercars for $20,630,000. The other four were reportedly already sold at undisclosed prices. The result was just more than the auction record for a McLaren F1, which inspired this car, and the 22nd car sold for more than $20 million (nominal).
The buyer will have the unique opportunity to work with Professor Gordon Murray to develop and personalize the car. As a new car to be delivered in the UK, the new owner will probably face a further tax bill.
Gordon Murray Special Vehicles SV1 LM
The five Gordon Murray Special Vehicles SV1 LM hypercars are built in homage to the five McLaren F1 LM cars built following the participation of the McLaren F1 in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Although Gordon Murray never intended the F1 to be a racecar, five McLaren F1 GTRs dominated the race. It was the last time a road-going GT-based car won Le Mans outright, with the five McLaren F1s finishing in 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 13th places.
The Gordon Murray SV1 LMs are powered by a bespoke 4.3-liter naturally aspirated GMA Cosworth V-12 producing over 700 horsepower at 12,100 rpm, with a target featherweight of only 957 kilograms. It is paired with a six-speed manual gearbox.
Inside the cockpit, a GPS-based lap timer, stopwatch, and track map system allow the driver to analyze and refine their performance on track. The car will follow the same 3-seat layout as the F1, with the driver sitting at the center.
McLaren F1 Prices at Auction
McLaren has no direct involvement in these cars. However, it is interesting to note that the result was just more than the McLaren auction marque record. (Several F1s have probably sold for much more privately.)
- A 1995 McLaren F1 with only 390 km (242 miles) on the clock set the marque record at $20,465,000 at the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021 classic car auction on the Monterey Peninsula in California, USA.
- A 1994 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’, serial no. 018, sold for $19,805,000 at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 sale. This McLaren was one of two upgraded by the factory to Le Mans specification.
- A 1997 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail sold by Gooding & Co for $5.3 million at Scottsdale 2014. This was the first McLaren GTR Longtail to have won a race and was in Fina livery as part of the official BMW racing team.