Are you still kicking yourself for missing out on the McLaren Speedtail? You’re in luck. Later this month, RM Sotheby’s is set to auction off a dazzling blue example of one of the British marque’s most distinctive hypercars in Arizona. What’s more, the car has barely been touched since leaving the factory.
All of McLaren’s supercars and hypercars are indebted to the F1, but few as much as the Speedtail. Unveiled in the fall of 2018, the ultra-sleek two-door is the fourth member of the automaker’s Ultimate Series. Just like the F1, the Speedtail has a carbon-fibre monocoque, a three-person seating configuration, and a potent powertrain, though this one is aided by an electric motor. It was also ultra-exclusive, with McLaren building just 106 examples, just as they did with its predecessor.
This Speedtail was the 69th to roll off the line. It’s finished in Liquid Blue Silver, a McLaren Special Operations bespoke hue that accentuates its smooth and flowing lines, particularly the extended rear end that gives the vehicle its name. The vehicle’s curvaceous design is memorable, but it is also remarkably aerodynamic—there are no side-view mirrors, for example—allowing the car to cut through the air like no McLaren before it. Inside, you’ll find a three-person configuration, with a seat for the driver up front and two for passengers in the back. Rounding things out, are a striking set of 10-spoke wheels with front aero covers up front.
The car’s hardware is just as noteworthy, of course. McLaren took an evolved version of the P1’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V-8 that produces 723 hp and combined it with a permanent magnet electric motor developed by the automaker’s Formula E technology team that generates an additional 312 hp. The result is a hybrid powertrain that pumps out a maximum of 1,035 hp, which is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. With all that power at its disposal, the car can sprint from zero to 62 mph in three seconds, zero to 186 mph in 13 seconds, and tops out at 250 mph. The setup should be in pretty good shape, too. The listing says the car has only 54 miles on it.
Speedtail no. 69 is scheduled to go up for bid on Thursday, January 25, during RM Sotheby’s annual Arizona sales event. The auction house expects the hypercar to sell for between RM9.3 million and RM12 million, which sounds about right since it started at RM11 million brand new.
