McLaren 2026 car fetches staggering $11 million at landmark auction

McLaren’s 2026 Formula 1 car has already found a buyer at auction, despite the machine not yet making its competitive debut on track.

The team confirmed last month that one of its MCL40A chassis would be offered for sale to collectors, and the car ultimately sold for approximately $11 million.

The remarkable price was achieved even though the car has yet to be raced or publicly run. McLaren also indicated that the chassis could ultimately be associated with either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri, adding further intrigue to the sale.

The buyer will receive the chassis in the first quarter of 2028, but the auction has already taken place, and the car has become the sixth-most expensive F1 car auction of all time.

Before that far away date of early 2028, the buyer will receive a replica of McLaren's 2025 chassis as a placeholder.

McLaren's 2026 car sale

2026 sees a major overhaul in the sport's regulations, and so the MCL40A is sure to be a historic car in years to come, no matter how McLaren perform throughout the season.

In 2025, the team secured their first championship double since the 1998 season, while Norris became the first McLaren driver since Lewis Hamilton in 2008 to win the drivers' championship.

If they can replicate that success again in 2026, then there's no doubt that the buyer will be very happy, with a championship-winning F1 car likely to hold its value better than a non championship-winning chassis.

The most expensive F1 car to have been sold at auction is the 1954 Mercedes W196R Streamliner, a car that saw Juan Manuel Fangio claim a home race win in Buenos Aires on his way to the 1954 drivers' championship.

That car sold earlier in 2025 for a staggering $57.7 million.

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