Just when we thought we’d never find spare accessories for our pair of McLaren F1s, RM Sotheby’s has a small bundle of neat-o accoutrements for the genre-defining hypercar up for grabs at its online-only Open Roads sale. We’ll have to make shelf space in our Swiss chalet garage. Maybe we’ll put our extra set of Fabergé […]
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Just when we thought we’d never find spare accessories for our pair of McLaren F1s, RM Sotheby’s has a small bundle of neat-o accoutrements for the genre-defining hypercar up for grabs at its online-only Open Roads sale. We’ll have to make shelf space in our Swiss chalet garage. Maybe we’ll put our extra set of Fabergé eggs in the basement and shift our crate of Pateks to the attic?
Hey, we can dream. On a more realistic note, RM Sotheby’s attached reasonable estimates to this small collection of F1 paraphernalia, and if these numbers hold true, interested bidders won’t have to hail from the same tax bracket as current F1 owners to nab a physical piece of hypercar history. There are surely no bargains to be found here, but even some of the cooler stuff falls under the five-figure mark.
Our first pick is this legit McLaren F1 gearshift assembly that includes a plumb-bob-esque shift knob and supporting linkage shaft—presumably made from either aluminum, magnesium, or titanium. The lot description notes this was not yoinked from an existing F1, but instead developed as a spare component during the development of the F1 GTR. So, you won’t have to bid against some feverish F1 owner willing to spend millions to put that purloined shifter back in their car. Or maybe you will. Who knows? If this person doesn’t show, then plan on matching the high pre-sale estimate of just under $6,000.
That shifter will look great on your desk, too. Or, sticking up from the center console of your ratty 1980s Ford Mustang project, provided you can figure out how to mate fine English craftsmanship with Detroit’s finest ’80s-era pig iron. You’ll need some tools for the job, too, so how about keeping it in the family with RM Sotheby’s McLaren F1 toolkit? Yes, this is your rare crack at owning a set of the F1’s famous gold-colored titanium tool roll that came with each car.
Sourced from French toolmaker Facom, the F1’s tool roll remained in-line with the F1’s absurd focus on weight reduction. With the exception of the steel pliers, each piece is hewn from titanium and coated in titanium nitride, which gives it that golden hue. This particular kit comes from an F1 that caught fire and carries scorch marks on the leather roll and screwdriver bits. All yours for a high pre-sale estimate of around $14,000.
If we can’t nab the shifter, we’ll settle for the carbon-fiber F1 wing endplate that’s also available. Nothing too fancy here—just a square of carbon fiber branded with “F1 McLaren” that’s supposed to sit on either end of the rear-spoiler on cars equipped with the aero package. This plate was salvaged from chassis no. 072 following its crash in 2014, and apparently kept separate as a keepsake after the car was rebuilt. This is one of the more affordable pieces of F1 bits, with RM Sotheby’s estimating a high final bid of around $1,400. As a bonus, the winning buyer also gets an F1 sales brochure.
Finally, RM Sotheby’s has the ultra-desirable F1 owner’s manual and the accompanying service record and warranty manual book. The F1 owner’s manual carries its own bit of legend. The beautifully bound book is replete with hand-drawn illustrations and diagrams from longtime McLaren employee Mark Roberts, which set it lightyears away from other supercar booklets of the same era. This is one of the most sought-after bits of F1 history, so the pre-sale estimate predicts a high bid of around $11,000 for either book.
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