What changed hands?
1996 McLaren F1 GTR. Most valuable McLaren F1 and British car ever sold at auction.
Le Mans pedigree at Monterey
The 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, known as 'Pop Art F1,' sold at RM Sotheby's Monterey for $34.655 million, securing its place among the most expensive cars sold at public auction in 2026. The GTR variant carries the racing lineage of the F1 platform, which competed at Le Mans and beyond.
A road car that went racing
The McLaren F1 was conceived as the ultimate road car, but its GTR racing variant competed at Le Mans and in the BPR Global GT Series. That dual identity — road car origins, racing car record — is part of what makes each F1 GTR a singular market object. This example became the most valuable McLaren F1 and British car ever sold at auction.
Read the number carefully
An auction result captures a particular object, a particular sale and the buyers competing on that occasion. It does not establish the value of every similar object, or what this one would sell for today.
Our selection keeps historical results separate from asking prices and estimates. Where the cited report does not break out fees, we say so rather than inventing a hammer price.
Sale documentation: RM Sotheby's — Biggest Ever Auction ↗
What does “source reviewed” mean?
We checked the published report against the amount and object listed here. That does not independently authenticate the object or confirm settlement of the transaction.
