This McLaren F1 High Downforce is one of only two in the world. Fitted with unique aero features from the factory, it’s the rarest of any F1, including the GTR recently wrecked by Nick Mason at Goodwood. It belongs to Andrew Bagnall, a racing car driver from New Zealand who won a host of touring car championships in the ’80s and ’90s. Bagnall has kept it in showroom condition, taking it out once a month over the course of his long-term ownership. Is this the ultimate iteration of what is perhaps the top-dog sports car from the last twenty five years?
The differences are more than just skin deep. It runs a 680 HP LM-Spec engine that increases performance over the already-fabled BMW V12, promoting its capabilities on track. It also revs to 8,500 RPM instead of 7,500 RPM, helping the car to sing even higher with its throaty exhaust. When paired with the large fixed rear wing, slipstreamed side skirts, and pronounced hood louvres,the engine provides the F1 High Downforce with a noticeable improvement from the “standard” model, if you can call it that.
Bagnall claims “I’ve owned, raced, driven a lot of nice cars and most of them pass on to someone else after a few years, but this car is so extraordinary and I just love it so much every time I hop into it that I would feel real loss if I let it go.”
You can’t help but love seeing one of the most significant pieces of the manufacturer’s history. They’ve developed into a top automaker, and this is the car that started their road going legacy.