British dealer breaks record for the most expensive modern supercar ever sold after 240mph McLaren snapped up for £3.5million

A McLaren F1 has become the most expensive modern supercar ever sold after being snapped up for more than £3.5million.
British car dealer Tom Hartley Jr, who sold the very rare 1998 car, refused to reveal the actual sale price but said it was in 'excess of £3.5million'.
This makes it three-and-half times more expensive than a brand-new Bugatti Veyron. A McLaren F1 sold at auction in 2008 for £2.53million and the collectible car market has skyrocketed by 63 per cent since then, according to the Historic Auto Group Index.

Nice little runner: Luxury car dealer Tom Hartley Jr, (pictured) refused to reveal the actual sale price of the McLaren F1 but said it was in 'excess of £3.5million'

The F1 is regarded as the ultimate modern car for collectors with experts comparing its desirability to that of the £22million Ferrari 250 GTO.
Mr Hartley Jr of Derbyshire-based Tom Hartley Cars, said: 'I think the McLaren F1 is the best car ever built.
'It was light-years ahead of its rivals and the model that I have sold is undoubtedly one of the best of the road-going F1s ever built.

 

'It has an unblemished history, has never been crashed and has been maintained regardless of cost.
'When you compare it to the Bugatti Veyron, you appreciate the Veyron's technology but the F1 is much rarer and for its time was so advanced.'
The legendary McLaren F1, which has three-seats with the driver positioned centrally, was built by the British firm between 1993 and 1998.

Famous owners: Just 64 road-going models were built. Celebrity owners included Rowan Atkinson, left, and Jay Leno, right

Ouch: Atkinson, who starred in Blackadder and Mr Bean, managed to crash his McLaren F1 (pictured) twice

It is fitted with a bespoke 6.1-litre V12 engine developing 627bhp - giving the lightweight supercar a 0-60mph time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 243mph.
This blistering performance made it the world's fastest car - a title it held for nearly a decade.
Incredibly, it is still the world's fastest non-turbocharged car.

THE MCLAREN F1: VITAL STATS

• The F1 has three-seats with the driver positioned centrally
• 64 built by the British firm between 1993 and 1998, costing £634,000 when new
• Bespoke 6.1-litre V12 engine
• 627 brake horse power
• 0-60mph in 3.2 seconds
• Top speed of 243mph
• Engine bay is lined with gold leaf which has excellent heat reflection properties

Just 64 road-going models were built with owners including Jay Leno and Rowan Atkinson, with the Mr Bean actor crashing his twice.
Rare and important Bentleys, Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, Aston Martins and Ferraris built before 1970 regularly sell for seven-figure sums.
But newer models, barring a few which cost in excess of £1million in the first place, don't attract anywhere near the same money.
The McLaren F1, however, is regarded as the most desirable vehicles built over the past 20 years with cars nearly never coming onto the open market.
McLaren, which has an exceptional relationship with its F1 customers, will normally broker deals in-house, making Mr Hartley's sale all the more extraordinary.
He added: 'It is very unusual for an F1 to be sold outside of the McLaren network. McLaren tries to keep a monopoly over its cars so they were a bit annoyed when one managed to slip through their fingers.
'There was no shortage of interest from around the world and I was thinking about holding onto it but decided to sell it and it went very quickly.
'Ray Bellm has now set up a club so there will be regular tours for owners. This will certainly help values to rise as owners like to mix with each other.'
Mr Hartley added the car had 'unfortunately' been sold abroad but was unwilling to reveal which part of the world the F1 was heading.