The 30 million dollar, 20 year old, brand new car.

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › The 30 million dollar, 20 year old, brand new car.

6FIEND

702 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 563

Topic # 223818 18-Oct-2017 16:46

Just Listed: 1997 McLaren F1 Wearing Just 148 Miles Since New

There's an aspect to this that might be interesting to discuss. (apart from the obvious, "Why would you spend a million dollars on arguably one of the world's greatest cars but never drive it?")

No, I'm wondering about storage... 20 years sitting idle would be potentially disastrous for a motorcar. Going well beyond simple stuff like keeping the battery charged and the tyres inflated, there is scope for significant corrosion, perishing rubber, seals failing, fluids breaking down, seized components, diagnostic tools becoming obsolete, etc, etc.

If money was no object (as it would need to be in this case) how would go about protecting an "investment" such as this from the ravages of time?

cadman

1014 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 572
Inactive user

Reply # 1885960 18-Oct-2017 21:07

You'd remove the battery and lift it off the ground and support it on the chassis in a controlled atmosphere box. They won't have just put it on a battery tender and thrown a sheet over it in the garage.

Batman

Mad Scientist
19005 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2469

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 1885971 18-Oct-2017 21:35

if you pay $20 mil you won't worry about such things

WyleECoyoteNZ

473 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 108

Reply # 1885983 18-Oct-2017 22:21

What an utter waste IMO

Cars like this are meant to be enjoyed (by the privileged few), not sit as museum pieces.

Looking at the pictures, you'd guess it's been sitting in a temperature controlled garage for the past 20 years, maybe on a trickle charger for the battery.

Who ever buys it, the first thing they'll need to do is send it off to the MTC (McLaren Technology Centre) in Woking for a service.

As for the diagnostics, McLaren still have a laptop, from the era, for that.

https://jalopnik.com/this-ancient-laptop-is-the-only-key-to-the-most-valuabl-1773662267

Geektastic

11887 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3854

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 1885989 18-Oct-2017 23:10

One person supports this post

I went for a ride in one of those once.

I used to go to Le Mans every year and my father let the flat above his office to a guy that worked for McLaren and was going to LM as part of the factory support for the cars that were racing. Dad put me in touch and we met up at the circuit. He lent me his All Access passes for the afternoon so I could wander the Pits and everywhere during practice one day before the race. When I met him to give them back, he asked me if I fancied a ride in one of the road cars they had driven down in. Of course I said yes.

'Kin cramped and none too comfy really, but faaaaaark was it quick! Pretty sure I have never moved so fast on four wheels in my life. We blatted down the Mulsanne Straight (which is a road outside race time) and the acceleration was staggering. I had a massive grin on my face all weekend after that.

blakamin

Aussie
4235 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1205

Trusted

Subscriber

Reply # 1885994 18-Oct-2017 23:21

It's a supercar bought buy someone as an investment...

No doubt it's had tyre pressures checked monthly. It's been off the ground, doors have never been shut, oil is synthetic, The block has probably been warmed and a remote oil pump could be used to flow oil. Rust would never be an issue, not even on the brake discs.

It probably has its own "person" to perform all these things.

People have been doing stuff like this since the 50's... Keeping a 20 year old car as new is not hard anymore.

Diagnostic tools won't be an issue either, jeez, I have diagnostic tools on my laptop that will do any BMW from 1987.

tripper1000

699 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 442

Reply # 1886274 19-Oct-2017 14:23

Car's like this are not made to be reliable or cheap to maintain. The fact that the front and rear seals on the engine may leak if you start it up are neither here nor there - you'd send it in for a $20K repair, which is nothing if you've shelled out $30m for it. You probably wouldn't even know though because you don't buy a car like this to drive it.

If i was preserving it and money was no objective, I'd replace the fluids with inhibitors (there are special oils made for this job) and store it jacked, in an air tight box, filled with dry nitrogen. If I was going the extra mile I would pull the motor and gear box and store them on their ends to protect the bearing running surfaces and seals from flat-spotting.

6FIEND

702 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 563

Reply # 1886321 19-Oct-2017 16:27

Nice...

But you're probably underestimating the cost of repair :-)

This guy sold his F1 because of the cost of upkeep (before they skyrocketed in value) ...he was quoted US$50k for new tyres.

$7k for tyres, plus the cost of flying a McLaren technician out from England, renting a local racetrack & transporting the vehicle to&from said track so that it could be "properly" set up and tested.

It's like there's a whole parallel reality out there for the uber rich!

frankv

2451 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1201

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 1886342 19-Oct-2017 16:37

6FIEND:

It's like there's a whole parallel reality out there for the uber rich!

Yah... I recall several years ago a TV program about a guy who owned a Ferrari... annual insurance premiums were said to be $250K. So, if someone *gave* you that McLaren, you'd soon be homeless. Within a couple of years you would have had to sell your house to insure it, and have to sleep in the car. White elephant...

Batman

Mad Scientist
19005 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2469

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 1886346 19-Oct-2017 16:41

6FIEND:

Nice...

But you're probably underestimating the cost of repair :-)

This guy sold his F1 because of the cost of upkeep (before they skyrocketed in value) ...he was quoted US$50k for new tyres.

$7k for tyres, plus the cost of flying a McLaren technician out from England, renting a local racetrack & transporting the vehicle to&from said track so that it could be "properly" set up and tested.

It's like there's a whole parallel reality out there for the uber rich!

Umm that's not even loose change for someone who has a a few private jets, yachts, mansions.