McLaren F1 expected to fetch $3.5 million at auction

It’s got three seats, had two owners and boasts one staggering price-tag – a legendary McLaren F1 is coming up at auction.

The world-beating British supercar is expected to fetch up to $3.5 million when it goes under the hammer next week.

Gooding & Company is auctioning the 1995 model with just 3,500 miles on the clock at the forthcoming Pebble Beach Concource d’Elegance in California. Originally owned by US businessman Larry Ellison, this F1 is number 62 of 64 built and comes complete with its factory delivered luggage and toolkit.

In 1988, McLaren took the decision to expand from Formula One and design and build the finest sports car the world had ever seen. Launched four years later with the first deliveries in December 1993, the McLaren F1 became the world’s fastest production car – officially entering the Guinness Book of Records in 1998 when a test driver cracked 240mph.

The Surrey-based company fitted the F1 with a 6.1-litre BMW-sourced V12 engine which developed a staggering 627bhp and enabled the supercar to accelerate from 0-60mph in just 3.1 seconds.

Despite being 15-years-old, the F1 still holds the title of the world’s fastest non-turbo or supercharged car and is hailed as Britain’s greatest sports car.

When the oldest motoring magazine Autocar reviewed the F1 in 1994, the road-tester described it as “a car that will always be capable of showing you something undiscovered, something you didn’t believe a road car could manage” and “as one of the great events in the history of the car.”

Next to the performance, the F1’s groundbreaking design was also celebrated. While most exotic cars have two seats, the McLaren F1 has a three seat layout with the driver uniquely positioned in the middle.

It was also an incredibly expensive machine, costing £540,000 in 1994 – but that’s a fraction of what a decent model is worth today with F1s exchanging hands for more than £2 million. In 2008, the last road-going F1 fetched £2.53 million when it was auctioned in the UK – £1.4 million MORE than the guide price.

Gooding & Company has given this F1 a guide price of $2.5 million – $3.5 million (£1.5 million – £2.2 million).

And with expensive cars, come expensive bills.

In 2009 the magnesium silver supercar underwent a service in California with the owner receiving a bill for $70,000 (£43,000) – the same price as THREE brand-new Volkswagen Golfs.

The successful bidder will join an exclusive group of McLaren F1 owners which includes American chat show host Jay Leno, musician Wyclef Jean and TV comic Rowan Atkinson who was once involved in a crash while driving his.

The McLaren F1 will be auctioned at the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance in California on Saturday August 11.

UPDATE: The McLaren F1 fetched exceeded expectations, fetching $3,575,000 (£2,080,000) at the Californian auction.