Auction for $20M McLaren car in Las Vegas starts hanging suspended in sky

A rather unique auction will take place during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, where the latest McLaren car designed by F1 icon Gordon Murray will be sold to one lucky buyer.

Any vehicle with a link to F1 will fetch a high price at auction, with RM Sotheby’s placing McLaren’s Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1 LM at $20million.

The car was imagined by Professor Gordon Murray, the designer responsible for the legendary McLaren F1 and within the S1 LM sits a purpose-built, exclusive 4.3-liter engine, developed with another iconic name in motorsport, Cosworth.

Described as a ‘modern incarnation’ of the iconic supercar, it was created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the McLaren F1 GTR’s 1995 Le Mans victory, with the S1 LM the first supercar from Gordon Murray’s Special Vehicles Division.

And the best bit about it all for spectators? Bidding will start with the S1 LM hanging suspended in the Las Vegas sky. 79-year-old Murray will also take to the stage to introduce the car and unveil his latest design.

Who is F1 designer Gordon Murray?

Murray is renowned as a lead designer of Brabham and McLaren F1 cars, joining Brabham in 1969 and was appointed chief designer by Bernie Ecclestone.

During his time at Brabham, Murray designed the BT46, more popularly known as the ‘fan' car, which was introduced at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix.

The ‘fan’ car generated a large amount of downforce by using a fan, placed at the rear of the car, which extracted air from beneath the car, but the design only featured the one time in Sweden, where Niki Lauda won it's only race in the Brabham.

Brabham withdrew the concept however, even though the FIA had determined the car legal, with team owner Ecclestone concerned that the ‘fan’ car would cause upset and could collapse the Formula One Constructors' Association - where Ecclestone had just become the chief executive.

Over the course of his career at Brabham, Murray’s cars won countless grands prix and helped aid Nelson Piquet to the drivers’ championship in 1981 and 1983.

In 1986, Murray was swayed over to McLaren by Ron Dennis as their technical director, overseeing the design of the 1988 MP4/4 car which won 15 of the 16 races and also delivered Ayrton Senna his first F1 drivers’ title.

By the time the 1990s came around, Murray turned his attention to designing McLaren road supercars and eventually opened Gordon Murray Design in 2007.

To this day, Murray continues to design cars and extend his already coveted legacy in motorsport.

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