McLaren Racing is selling five Formula 1 cars from its own heritage collection through dealer Tom Hartley Jnr, and every one of them has stayed in the family since its racing days ended. That’s a rare thing in a market for ex-race cars where provenance usually comes with gaps and being hidden away in barns for years on end. McLaren Racing’s Zak Brown had this to say, “These cars were built to be driven and raced, and we want to see them being used and enjoyed.” Translation: this isn’t a distress sale. Prices are not published but going by Tom Hartley Jnr’s sale of Bernie Ecclestone’s humongous collection of 69 historic F1 cars, valued at well over $646 million, each car here could fetch prices between $7 to $14 million.
Headlining the list are two 1991 MP4/6A chassis, powered by Honda’s naturally-aspirated V12. Chassis 04 is Gerhard Berger’s car from Imola, which finished second behind Ayrton Senna. Chassis 07 has been tested by Senna, with a win to its name, but more importantly, zero crashes in its race career, a rare feat for a historic motorsport legend of this pedigree. With a pair like this, the case to have both in one single collection almost writes itself.
Next up, the 2012 MP4/27A chassis 01, raced by Jenson Button and tested by Lewis Hamilton in his final season with the team. Moving into the turbo V6 era, the 2021 MCL35M is the chassis Lando Norris took to second at Monza behind Daniel Ricciardo, making it another car with a McLaren 1-2 history.
The newest is the 2023 MCL37, chassis 03, which holds the proud distinction of being the most modern F1 car to go into private hands. There is the current MCL40 that was sold at auction last year, but it won’t be delivered till 2028, which means this MCL37 has that honor for a little under a couple of years more. The MCL37 also carries the provenance of being driven by everyone from professional F1 drivers, and a Hollywood A-lister pretending to be one — this is the same chassis Brad Pitt drove for a promotional feature. The chassis has two podium finishes under its belt.
Each of these cars is offered individually, with no deadline to the sale. Additionally, the same buyer could potentially buy the lot of them, if they really have a taste for papaya. McLaren will restore the older cars before delivery, as well as deliver the recent ones in running shape. So, even if you can’t possibly afford a toy with real McLaren Racing heritage, there’s a good chance the public will see these cars turn a wheel in anger on a racetrack somewhere in the world, with a very pleased gentleman driver behind the wheel.
