This McLaren F1‘s sole owner is Nick Mason, drummer for legendary British rock band Pink Floyd, whose 1973 record Dark Side of the Moon spent nearly 1,000 weeks on the American Billboard 200 chart before becoming the fourth-best-selling album in the history of recorded music, and arguably the most musically ambitious to achieve such commercial success. Amazingly, Mason’s ownership of the car isn’t what makes this car so desirable.
It’s a McLaren F1 GTR, a hardcore racing variant of the car that essentially prototyped the modern supercar that stands as the last ever outright Le Mans winner that could be driven on the road. RM Sotheby’s rightfully posits that it’s enshrined alongside the Ferrari 250 GTO among the greatest and most valuable racers of all time.
The first F1 GTRs variants were put on a diet that featured new bodywork, a large rear wing, and carbon-ceramic disc brakes, all for weight saving’s sake. Nine chassis were built for privateer use, with McLaren’s own development car—chassis 01R—winning Le Mans in spectacular fashion under the Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing banner. The achievement was monumental and cemented the McLaren F1’s legacy.
The following season in 1996 saw other pure-bred racecars like the Porsche 911 GT1 join the ranks, requiring the McLaren F1 GTR to evolve, despite its historic Le Mans win. That evolution—the McLaren F1 GTR 1996—featured extensions to the bodywork at both the front and rear, and a more aggressive front splitter that significantly increased downforce. The gearbox benefited from a lightweight magnesium housing that helped it shed an additional 84 pounds compared to the previous GTR.
The McLaren F1 GTR 1996 would be the fastest ever variant of the famous racer, outpacing even the final “Long-Tail” version of 1997 and limited to just nine examples. But Mason’s—chassis 10R—is even more special, being one of just two short-tail GTR prototypes in existence, the other being the chassis that won Le Mans in 1995. What’s more, 10R is the only GTR that ever wore its quintessentially British, pop-art channeling scarlet and yellow livery.
While not a race winner, 10R saw competitive action in early April when it took part in 12 hours of testing in preparation for its championship repeat attempt. Three weeks later, chassis 10R made the journey to the Circuit de la Sarthe, where it participated in Pre-Qualifying for the French epic. Wearing a plain Blood Red livery with graphite wheels and running under the auspices of reigning Le Mans champions, Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing, the car was driven by McLaren Works driver, David Brabham. Ultimately, it would be its sister car, chassis 11R, that would go on to contest Le Mans.
While the car was initially retained by the McLaren factory, Mason was deemed worthy of ownership, having been a petrolhead long before Pink Floyd etched out its spot in music history. Today, he boasts an incredible, crown-jewel-rich collection including a Ferrari 250 GTO, Maserati 250F, Bugatti Type 35, Jaguar D-Type, and Porsche 962.
RM Sotheby’s has more on the car’s provenance:
Having been converted for road use by McLaren directly, and subsequently registered “K40 MCL” in 1999, further work was carried out on the car by Paul Lanzante and his company Lanzante Limited. No stranger to McLaren or the F1, it was Paul Lanzante who was at the helm of the Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing team at Le Mans in 1995, leading the team to victory on what was also his first participation in the fabled event. Chassis 10R was one of the earliest conversions of an estimated 16 McLaren F1 GTRs to be modified for road use, taking one of the most feted racing cars of the 1990s full circle. A dominant force on track, it returned to where its creator always intended it to be: the open road.
Chassis 10R was later displayed at Rétromobile in 2007 and subsequently used for a 2009 test by Autocar’s Steve Sutcliffe. That was followed by another journalist losing control of the car and ending up in a field of wheat, prompting a no-expense-spared restoration by Paul Lanzante’s son, Dean, and his incredible team at Lanzante Limited in 2009. Having been a member of the Le Mans-winning squad in 1995, Dean worked alongside his father in race preparing and restoring McLaren Formula 1 cars and F1 GTRs before striking out on his own and opening Lanzante Limited, which not only served as an official McLaren dealership (as McLaren Petersfield) but also became the foremost authority in converting McLaren racing cars—including the F1 GTR, P1 GTR and LM, and Senna LM25— and other similarly high-strung racing cars for the road.
In 2012, the McLaren was displayed at the 73rd Goodwood Members’ Meeting, and just a few weeks later it participated in the 750-kilometer 20th Anniversary Tour organized by the 106 Drivers Club. In 2014, the McLaren joined five other F1 GTRs for the Club’s Tour of Tuscany, a 750-kilometer road rally based in Siena, Italy. The car returned to the Chichester circuit in 2017 for a GT1 demonstration at the 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting, during which Mason famously left the track and struck a tire wall. The McLaren was subsequently treated to a second restoration by Dean Lanzante, while its most recent Goodwood appearance was at the 2022 Festival of Speed.
Having been maintained by both Paul and Dean Lanzante since entering Mason’s ownership, chassis 10R is mechanically among the best of its type. The collector is said to have had an “open checkbook” policy when it came to the car’s maintenance, sending the McLaren back to Dean Lanzante’s workshop following every significant drive and leaving no stone unturned in ensuring it was always in top cosmetic and mechanical condition, ensuring that 10R remained one of the very best maintained of all F1s. A recent inspection carried out by Lanzante Limited is on file for interested parties.
Mason’s 1996 McLaren F1 GTR is expected to sell for $35 million or more when it crosses the block on August 15 in Monterey. Should bidding soar that high, it will become the most expensive McLaren F1 ever sold at auction.