There’s a glorious irony in the fact that McLaren F1 chassis 062, one of the purest driver’s cars ever built, first belonged to Larry Ellison, a man who helped define the digital revolution. In the mid-1990s, when most supercars were chasing power through turbos, computers, and electronic trickery, Gordon Murray’s McLaren F1 went the other way. It was an exercise in mechanical purity, boasting a race-focused central driving position and the chance to experience one of the world’s best manual gearboxes mated to a naturally aspirated BMW-built V12 that sang all the way to 7,500 rpm. And, just in case you needed reminding, no traction control, no stability control, and absolutely no apology for it. In 1997, Ellison could have had anything, the Ferrari F50, a Lamborghini Diablo, even something experimental with all the newest tech wizardry, but he chose the F1. It’s almost poetic a man who built his fortune in ones and zeros chose a machine defined by tactile feel, analogue feedback, and a direct line from steering wheel to the soul. Now, this incredible jewel of the motoring world is part of RM Sotheby’s Sealed Auction, with a value in excess of 23,000,000 dollars.
Despite a mere 106 McLaren F1s being built, unrivalled popularity and headline grabbing specs meant ‘the car of the century’ naturally went global. F1s would head to Europe, Japan, the Middle East, and to the United States, where tough federal laws meant that modifications would have to be made for the McLaren F1 to be street legal. Larry Ellison’s car was finished in Magnesium Silver, as were six of the seven US imports, alongside a black leather interior with grey driver’s seat insert. He would keep Chassis 062 car for over a decade, wearing a California vanity license plate 'ORACLE8'. Navigating less than 2,600 miles before it was purchased by another car collector and resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, this second owner then sold it at auction in 2010 to its current, third owner. By this point, the F1 showed less than 3,500 miles and, remarkably, the car would stay in the San Francisco Bay Area with its new owner, making it likely the only F1 to have changed owners multiple times while never leaving its immediate geographic location.
Despite a flurry of advanced hypercars arriving seemingly every week, nothing sparks adrenaline and joy quite like a McLaren F1. No other car has caused the same stir since it launched at the Monaco Sporting Club during the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix with a price tag of $1 million including taxes. That figure is set to increase 23 times over with this sale, but with it comes the chance to own what truly is one of the world’s greatest machines!
Photos by Zach Brehl for RM Sotheby's
