Gooding announced a low-mileage 1995 McLaren F1 in metallic brown as an early lead car for the Pebble Beach 2021 classic car auction during Monterey Week.
A time capsule 1995 McLaren F1 with only 250 miles on the clock was announced for the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021 sale during the annual Monterey motoring extravaganza in California, USA, in mid-August. It is finished in a unique metallic brown and in as-delivered condition. A result in excess of $15 million is expected, which should make it one of the most expensive McLarens ever sold at public auction.
Gooding Pebble Beach Sale 2021
Gooding & Company will hold its traditional Pebble Beach sale on 13 and 14 August 2021 at the Pebble Beach Parc du Concours during the annual Monterey Motoring Week in California, USA. It will be a traditional live auction.
In 2021, Gooding earned $107,045,410 at Pebble Beach selling 115 of 132 lots for a sell-through rate of 87% and an average price of $930,829 per lot.
After Monterey Week 2020 was canceled, Gooding earned $14,497,443 in the replacement Geared Online 2020 auction selling 55 of the 77 lots on offer for a sell-through rate of 71%. Five cars sold for more than a million dollar.
In comparison, at Pebble Beach in 2019, Gooding earned $76,824,740 with a sell-through rate of 77% – 108 of 140 lots offered — and 17 cars sold for over a million dollar each. This was already down on the $116.5 million earned in 2018 and the record $129.8 million earned in 2016 at the peak of the market.
1995 McLaren at Gooding Pebble Beach 2021
A rare 1995 McLaren F1 with only 390 km (242 miles) on the clock is the early lead car for the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021 classic car auction. It is one of only 106 F1s produced, of which only 68 are road-going vehicles. It was the only one finished in metallic brown. A result in excess of $15 million is expected.
This F1, chassis 029, has rarely been seen in public. This remarkable McLaren spent most of its existence hidden away in a private Japanese collection. While in Japan, it was carefully maintained and seldom driven, contributing to its exceptional present condition. Its current US-based owner has continued to preserve the car in the same as-delivered state. It has covered less than 390 kilometers from new and remains in pristine, original condition, down to its date-coded Goodyear Eagle F1 tires, ranking it among the finest and best-preserved examples extant. Adding to this spectacular supercar’s uniqueness is its sensational one-off color scheme, which ideally suits the understated exterior design.
According to factory records, chassis 029 was the 25th road car built and is the only F1 delivered in Creighton Brown, a special color named after the executive who was instrumental in establishing the McLaren Cars company. This distinctive livery is perfectly complemented by Light Tan and Dark Brown leather upholstery inside the three-seater cockpit.
A true time capsule, chassis 029 is offered with important accessories including the McLaren service book, owner’s manual, FACOM tool chest, titanium tool kit, fitted luggage, TAG Heuer watch, and the official Driving Ambition book. This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire the lowest-mile F1 ever presented at auction and gain instant access into one of the most exclusive clubs in motoring.
McLaren F1 — Development and Racing Success
The brainchild of celebrated designer Gordon Murray, the McLaren F1 was envisioned as the ultimate road car – a true Formula 1 car for the road. The F1 project began in 1988, when Ron Dennis, Mansour Ojjeh, and Creighton Brown, the heads of McLaren’s dominant Formula 1 team, decided to put Murray’s unique three-seat, center-drive sports car concept into production. The innovative team pioneered the production of this very rare design feature, boasting a seat in the center of the car with passenger seats flanking the driver on either side. Not only did the F1 showcase McLaren’s technical prowess, characterized by precision engineering and exemplary attention to detail, it also represented an exciting new venture into producing road cars.
When it was first unveiled in 1992, the F1 was immediately hailed as a mechanical masterpiece. The McLaren supercar was not only novel in its concept, but each F1 was hand built to exacting standards, utilizing the finest state-of-the-art materials, including carbon fiber, Kevlar, titanium, and even gold. True to Murray’s uncompromising design ethos, the F1 featured elegant bodywork penned by the great Peter Stevens using Grand Prix technology, including ground effects, to generate downforce. Its naturally aspirated BMW Motorsport six-liter V-12 engine was a magnificent design that developed over 100 hp-per-liter and produced an intoxicating howl as it revved to its 7,500 rpm redline. The F1 also featured a revolutionary carbon fiber monocoque chassis, a six-speed manual transaxle, unassisted Brembo brakes, and bespoke high-speed tires. Although intended as a pure driver’s car, the F1 was designed for comfortable road use and is equipped with a clever air-conditioning system as well as a lightweight audio system specially designed by Kenwood.
Between 1992 and 1998, McLaren built just 106 examples of the McLaren F1. A testament to the quality of its design and engineering, the F1 remains the fastest naturally aspirated production car, with a top speed of 240 mph. Though it was not designed as a racing car, the competition-specification F1 GTR dominated motor racing during the 1990s. In 1995, the original GTRs – a mildly modified version of the road-going F1 – placed 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 13th at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the F1 GTR, McLaren went on to capture the BPR Global GT Series Championship in 1995 and 1996. As the most expensive production car when new, the McLaren F1 is now among the most desirable of all collector cars. It represents the pinnacle of modern sports car design and is the supercar by which all others are judged.
McLaren F1 Prices at Public Auction
McLaren F1s are rare and highly desirable cars that rarely make it to auction. Only a handful has sold at public auction in the past five years. Several have sold privately, including Rowan Atkinson’s (Mr Bean) twice-crashed F1 with almost 70,000 km on the clock for a claimed $12.5 million.
The marque auction record is $19,805,000 achieved by the 1994 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’, serial no. 018, at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 sale. This McLaren was one of two that was upgraded by the factory to Le Mans specification.
The sister car in LM-Specification, the 1998 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’, serial no. 073, sold for $13,750,000 at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2015 sale to raise the marque record by more than $5 million.
The highest price for a standard F1 is $15,620,000 achieved at the Bonhams Quail Lodge 2017 sale for the 1995 McLaren F1, number 044. This car was the very first McLaren F1 imported into the US and the very first of only a handful of F1s to become fully federalized as a US road-legal car. Given that these cars are now older than 25 years, such registration is now somewhat less valuable than before.
The last two McLaren F1 sold by Gooding was at Scottsdale 2014 ($5,280,000) and Pebble Beach 2013 ($8,470,000).
Monterey Motoring Week 2021
Most of the traditional Monterey Motoring Week events returned in mid-August 2021 after the cancellations in 2020. Top classic car auctioneers with sales during Monterey Week 2021 included Gooding (Pebble Beach), Bonhams (Quail Lodge), RM Sotheby’s, and Mecum.
Monterey 2021 Auction Results:
- Monterey 2021 All Auctions: Auction Results General Overview, Top Ten Results, List of Million-Dollar Cars
- Bonhams: Quail Lodge Sale Results
- Gooding: Pebble Beach Sale Results, McLaren F1
- RM Sotheby’s: Monterey Sale Results, Andrews Estate Collection Sale
- Mecum: Monterey Sale Results
Monterey 2021 Auction Announcements:
- Bonhams: Mercedes-Benz 26/100/180
- Bonhams: Talbot-Lago T26 Décapotable
- Gooding: Ferrari California Spider Competizione
- Gooding: Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK GTR Strassenversion
- Gooding: Prewar British Cars
- Gooding: Prewar American Cars
- Gooding: Bugatti Type 35B
- Gooding: Ford GT40 Alan Mann Lightweight
- Gooding: Neil Peart’s Silver Surfers Collection
- Gooding: American Racing Cars
- Gooding: Porsche 934 & 935
- Gooding: McLaren F1
- Gooding: Italian Coachbuilt Cars
- RM Sotheby’s: Porsche 917K
- RM Sotheby’s: Le Mans Racing Cars
- RM Sotheby’s: Andrews Estate Collection (Aston Martin DB4GTs)
- RM Sotheby’s: Top Ferraris
Previous Monterey Week Auction Results
