2026 RM Sotheby’s Monterey Sale (McLaren F1 GTR Announced)

A rare 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, known as “The Pop Art F1,” was announced as the headlining car for the RM Sotheby’s Monterey Car Week 2026 classic car auction.

Nick Mason’s 1996 McLaren F1 GTR in factory livery is the most expensive car yet announced for any Monterey Car Week 2026 collector-car auction. It was the first of only two short-tail prototypes built to 1996 specification. If the car sells near RM Sotheby’s presale estimate of “Value in Excess of $35,000,000”, it will increase the McLaren marque and British-made car record by around $10 million and be one of the ten most expensive cars ever sold at public auction.

McLaren F1 GTR on Sale at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026

McLaren F1 GTR cars are rare, and the one heading for RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026 classic car auction is a particularly special car. This 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, chassis #10R, was the first of only two short-tail prototypes built as a development of the 1995 winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, chassis 01R.

Chassis #10R participated in qualifying for Le Mans in 1996, but it was the sister car, chassis #11R, that competed in the actual race. It wears the special McLaren factory livery in Blood Red with bold yellow “96 GTR” graphics, which led to its nickname “The Pop Art F1”.

Only 9 McLaren F1 GTR cars were built to 1996 specification — the fastest of the F1 series. Chassis 10R was the first one to be converted by McLaren for road use.

Nick Mason’s McLaren F1 GTR

McLaren sold the car in 1999 to Nick Mason, the drummer of Pink Floyd, whose car collection has included, among others, a Ferrari 250 GTO, Maserati 250F, Bugatti Type 35, Jaguar D-Type, and Porsche 962.

Mason is understood to have maintained an open-checkbook approach to the car’s maintenance, returning it to Lanzante following significant use and ensuring it remained in exceptional cosmetic and mechanical condition. 

As a former race car, the McLaren apparently has no odometer. However, it has been at Goodwood several times, and Mason participated in the 750-kilometer 20th Anniversary Tour organized by the 106 Drivers Club and joined five other F1 GTRs for the Club’s Tour of Tuscany, a 750-kilometer road rally based in Siena, Italy. It has therefore been driven significantly more than many modern hypercars offered at auctions.

McLaren F1 Supercar Auction Prices

Only 106 of the McLaren F1 supercars were ever built. Of these, 64 were originally road cars, 28 race cars, and a further 7 prototypes. At least nine of the GTR racers were converted to road use. McLaren F1 cars rarely come to auction — private sales seem more frequent but still rare given the scarcity of the model and the very high prices.

Top McLaren F1 Public Auction Prices

Recent public auction prices for McLaren F1 cars include:

R	Year	Car	Price ($)	Auction House	Auction	Auction Date
1	1994	McLaren F1	25,317,500	RM Sotheby’s	Abu Dhabi	2025
2	1995	McLaren F1	20,465,000	Gooding	Pebble Beach	2021
3	1994	McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’	19,805,000	RM Sotheby’s	Monterey	2019
4	1995	McLaren F1	15,620,000	Bonhams	Quail Lodge	2017
5	1998	McLaren F1 “LM-Specification”	13,750,000	RM Sotheby’s	Monterey	2015
6	1997	McLaren F1	8,470,000	Gooding	Pebble Beach	2013
7	1997	McLaren F1 GTR Longtail	5,280,000	Gooding	Scottsdale	2014

The most expensive McLaren car ever sold at public auction is a white 1994 McLaren F1 that achieved $25 million at the RM Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi 2025 sale. It is also the most expensive British car ever. This McLaren F1, chassis 014, was a relatively unremarkable car with almost 14,000 miles on the clock.

The result increased the McLaren marque record from the $20,465,000 paid for a metallic brown 1995 McLaren F1 with only 390 km (242 miles) on the clock at the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021.

The last GTR sold at public auction was over a decade ago and achieved $5,280,000 at Gooding Scottsdale 2014.

Monterey Car Week Auctions 2026