California’s Monterey Car Week is here, and that means auctions of high-end collector cars will be sold for astronomical prices. 
This year RM Sotheby’s has a 1997 McLaren F1 painted in magnesium silver for sale at auction starting at $23 million. F1s have been sold for staggering prices over the years with no signs of their values slowing down. Back in 2021, an F1 was sold for a then-record $20.5 million. The example for sale this year will be available at auction until Saturday, Aug. 16, with sealed bidding. 
If you are unfamiliar with the F1, then you may be confused by the massive price. For enthusiasts who already know about the vehicle and its history, then the price is no surprise.  
This F1 was formerly owned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and since then it has had two additional owners. The car has only 6,500 miles and has been serviced regularly along with some additional upgrades. This example is chassis No. 062 and is one of seven F1s that were originally exported to the United States via Ameritech.
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The F1 was designed by Gordon Murray who was the lead designer for McLaren and the Brabham Formula 1 team. Murray began designing the F1 as a concept in 1969 and it was finally brought to life in 1992. The production lasted until 1998 and only 106 models were built.  
The car is powered by a 6.1-liter V12 made by BMW and it delivers 618 horsepower. The car was able to reach a top speed of 240 mph in the 1990s and still remains the fastest naturally aspirated vehicle to ever be made. The massive amount of heat produced by the engine bay caused some trouble during the design phase, so the engineers decided the only way to insulate it was with gold. The car is a three-seater as it imitates the center seating position that Formula 1 cars have.  
The F1 doesn’t feature any of the modern technology that most performance vehicles have today. There is no traction control, stability control, paddle shifters, turbochargers or hybrid assistance — just the car and the driver. To this day, the F1 offers the ultimate driving experience that can’t be found in today’s vehicles. 
At Le Mans in 1995, the F1 GTR finished the race in 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 13^th place. The F1 LM was made in honor of the GTRs and only six models were built. The F1 was the first McLaren vehicle produced for the road so owners of the vehicle could experience the racing heritage themselves. 
Since this McLaren F1 is being sold in a sealed bid auction, the names and bids placed on the vehicle are private. The final sale price and the name of the auction winner won’t be announced publicly until the auction is over. Since the starting price is already a record for a McLaren F1, the amount it sells for will be sky-high. 

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