The first of five Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1 LMs went for $20,630,000 at RM Sotheby’s single-lot sale on November 21, 2025. The price is claimed to be the highest ever for a new car sold at auction (charity sales aside).
The S1 LM was brought into the auction, which took place at the Wynn Las Vegas resort, suspended from a helicopter. The occasion was co-ordinated with the car’s architect, Gordon Murray, being presented with the amfAR Award of Innovation at the amfAR benefit gala during the Las Vegas Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend.
Created as a celebration of the McLaren F1’s Le Mans 24 Hours win 30 years ago, just five examples of the S1 LM are being built – and this was chassis no. 1.
Unveiled at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering earlier this year, the S1 LM is i inspired by Murray’s 1995 Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 GTR, and based on heavily reworked T.50 architecture. The S1 LM uses a bored-out 4.3-litre naturally aspirated V12, based on the T.50’s, but tuned for more power (revving to around 12,100rpm). The S1 LM does not use the T.50’s rear-mounted fan system; instead it adopts a conventional aerodynamic approach with a fixed rear wing, a larger splitter and reprofiled bodywork. All exterior panels are unique to the S1 LM and are shaped with reference to endurance-racing layouts rather than the T.50’s road-oriented form.
The S1 LM sits lower, uses revised suspension geometry and employs solid engine mounts, giving it a firmer, more track-biased configuration. Its weight target is lower than the T.50’s and some comfort-oriented features are reduced or removed. Inside, the three-seat arrangement remains, but the fittings are lighter and simpler.
The purchaser will not ‘just’ be getting a new car – they will collaborate with Gordon Murray and the Special Vehicles team during the specification and build process via a sales contract directly with Gordon Murray Special Vehicles. The owner will take part in selected development test drives and will be able to provide feedback during the final calibration phase. Access during this process includes interaction with executive product and brand director Dario Franchitti and with Gordon Murray, tooo.
The buyer will also receive a 500-page monograph on the S1 LM containing photographs, technical information and copies of original design sketches and notes. Estimated at in excess of $20m by RM Sotheby’s, the guide price proved to be well chosen.
How does the record-setting $20,630,000 sale price compare with the car’s inspiration? It’s been a long time since a McLaren F1 GTR hit a public auction – Gooding sold a Longtail from 1997 at its Scottsdale sale in 2014 for $5.28m, but values have quadrupled since then, with GTRs tending to sell in the region of $20m-$23m. Girardo & Co, for example, has a 1997 example that competed in the British GT Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours for sale in the UK, but it is listed as POA.
For more information on the RM Sotheby’s sale, click here.
