Some cars appreciate. But this particular McLaren appears to have discovered compound interest. Chassis 10R, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason’s 1996 McLaren F1 GTR that’s spent the last three decades being driven hard, crashed occasionally and restored beautifully, is now estimated at over $35 million by RM Sotheby’s, a number that would have seemed impossible in 1996.
To understand why, you have to go back to Woking in December 1995, when 10R rolled out as the very first of nine F1 GTRs built to the revised 1996 specification. Longer nose and tail, a bigger front splitter, more downforce, a tougher magnesium-cased gearbox, and about 83 pounds shaved off, bringing race weight down to roughly 2,231 pounds. Under the rear clamshell sat the naturally aspirated 6.1-liter BMW V12, race-restricted to around 600 horsepower, though what it makes in road trim currently is McLaren’s little secret. Enthusiasts call this generation the Goldilocks GTR: short-tail elegance with a manual gearbox, all the 1996 upgrades, none of the excess of the following year’s Longtail.
Then there’s the livery. Because McLaren owned 10R outright, with no sponsor to please, it wore the only factory-designed livery on any F1 GTR, a pop-art inspired Blood Red body wrapped in cartoonish yellow “96 GTR” graphics. Ron Dennis apparently hated the idea of a red McLaren, since it was too close to Ferrari for comfort. Gordon Murray, on the other hand, disagreed and the proof of who won the debate is in the pudding.
The car has hardly lived the life of an investment-grade collectible since. Often-repeated history reports two crashes, a 1996 Paul Ricard test ended early by David Brabham, and a 2009 off into a wheat field. There was actually a third, which history seems to have quietly filed away. Nick Mason, its longtime owner, added a scare of his own at Goodwood in 2017, spinning into the tyre wall during a demo run. With Mason unhurt, the car was restored yet again. Three crashes, one factory paint job, and a value curve steeper than the most bear-ish of investments. That’s not bad for a car that was only ever meant to be a prototype.
