12 Most Expensive McLarens Of All Time, Ranked

From its early days as an upstart racing outfit to its current status as one of the world's leading performance car manufacturers, McLaren's history is filled with iconic cars. Its back catalog of road cars, despite being a relatively recent development, is already filled with class-leading models, and its race cars have claimed dozens of the world's most prestigious titles over the decades. Many of those winning cars have since made their way into private collectors, rarely changing hands and commanding huge sums of money when they do.

The F1 is still, for many people, the ultimate road car, and fittingly, several examples feature on the list of the brand's most expensive models. However, there are also a few more surprising appearances, including a classic Can-Am racer and a coachbuilt one-off built on the bones of the MP4-12C. Prices for the McLaren F1 continue to rise at record rates, so it's likely we'll see even more eye-watering price tags being fetched by the most desirable cars in the future. But for now, here are the 12 most expensive McLarens ever sold.

Although the team ultimately couldn't compete with a dominant Ferrari, McLaren was looking strong coming into the 2002 Formula 1 season. The new MP4-17D race car had been developed at the team's freshly completed wind tunnel, leading to aerodynamic improvements over the outgoing car. It also boasted a revised 3.0-liter V10, making 845 horsepower, and behind the wheel sat Kimi Räikkönen and David Coulthard. Out of every McLaren that competed that season, the chassis sold at an RM Sotheby's auction in 2021 was the most successful, winning the Australian Grand Prix and taking five more podium places.

It was driven by both Räikkönen and Coulthard across the 2002 and 2003 seasons, racking up 12 race entries in total. It was also used as a test car at eight further events before being retired and eventually sold into private ownership. Understandably, the car caused plenty of excitement when it debuted at auction — it's not every day that collectors get the chance to purchase an F1 car, let alone a race-winning one. After bidding closed, the MP4-17D achieved a final price of 1,973,750 Swiss Francs, roughly $2.16 million at the time.

The fastest McLaren made to date, the Speedtail "Hyper-GT" boasts a top speed of 250 mph. While many of the most exclusive McLarens opt for a bare-bones approach to interior furnishings in a quest to save weight, the Speedtail is a much more lavish affair, with leather upholstery across the whole cabin and a focus on comfort as much as performance. Not that McLaren would ever compromise on the latter, of course: the car's gas-hybrid system packs 1,035 horsepower and can reach 186 mph from a standstill, nearly four seconds faster than its predecessor, the P1.

As well as being incredibly powerful, the Speedtail also boasts plenty of aero tricks to help it achieve its lofty top speed. The front wheels are hidden by aero covers, while the rear of the car's sloping carbon fiber bodywork is flexible and can be adjusted for optimal airflow at high speeds. It's safe to say that the Speedtail is one of the most technologically advanced road cars out there, and as a result, it's a highly sought-after collector's grail. It cost around $2.29 million plus taxes when unveiled in 2018 but has since sold for even more at auction. A 2021 RM Sotheby's auction saw one example with just 30 miles on the clock fetching $3,277,500.

McLaren's latest ultra-exclusive hypercar is also one of its most expensive, with a reported £3 million price tag (roughly $3.63 million). The Solus GT was first designed for the racing game "Gran Turismo Sport," but McLaren decided to make a real-world version of the virtual concept limited to just 25 units. It's powered by a 5.2-liter naturally-aspirated V10, putting out roughly 829 horsepower, with its futuristic design helping to generate enough downforce to efficiently transfer all those horses to the tarmac.

It also helps reduce drag, with McLaren drawing on its F1 expertise to create a shape that's as slippery as possible. Its extreme design means it's set to be mind-bogglingly fast, but the tradeoff is that it's not road-legal. There's no room to take friends along for the ride either — it's strictly a single seater, with an F1-inspired cabin designed to protect the driver in the event of a high-speed crash. Unfortunately for anyone with deep enough pockets to consider buying one, there's no point making inquiries at the nearest McLaren dealer, as every example of the car was sold before it was even officially unveiled in 2022.

It's difficult to argue that paying over $5 million for any car constitutes a bargain, but considering how much prices for the rarest examples of the McLaren F1 have increased in recent years, the buyer of this F1 GTR Longtail will have certainly made a healthy return on their investment. It was listed for sale by Gooding & Co. in 2014, with the hammer falling at $5.28 million. For that, the unidentified buyer got the most successful example of McLaren's legendary race car, with two wins and FIA GT Championship four podium finishes over its racing career.

The GTR Longtail is extremely rare even by F1 standards, as only 10 examples were built out of 106 total F1 cars. The example in question had been maintained by one of the world's leading McLaren specialists and featured a version of BMW's naturally-aspirated V12 engine tuned to 704 horsepower. It is, according to the auction listing, the most successful BMW Team car known to be in private ownership, as well as being the most advanced iteration of the F1 race car. It hasn't been listed for sale since the record-setting auction, but when it appears again, it's likely to fetch significantly more than the current buyer paid nearly a decade ago.

After the F1, SLR, and MP4-12C, McLaren's next road car was a very odd one. Throughout its history, both as a road car manufacturer and a racing outfit, McLaren has always focused on performance, improving its cars methodically and rationally. The X-1 was a complete U-turn on those principles: it was a one-off, specially commissioned car based on an MP4-12C, but with unique bodywork that took design inspiration from a selection of American and French classics.

Mechanically, it was identical to the MP4-12C, making its construction even more puzzling. If it wasn't built to be faster, handle better, or be technically superior to the brand's series-production supercar, then why build it? The answer is likely down to the status of its commissioner, who was reportedly close to McLaren boss Ron Dennis, and the size of said commissioner's bank account — at a reported cost of $7 million, this was by far the most expensive factory car McLaren had built up to that point.

The most expensive McLaren sold to date is a nearly-new F1 that was auctioned by Gooding & Co. in 2021. Described by the auctioneer as a "time capsule," the car only had around 240 miles on the clock. It was originally delivered to a Japanese collector but later brought to the U.S., where it was federalized for road use. Not that it saw much road use, with an odometer reading that low. That seems like a shame since much of the appeal of the McLaren F1 is how unbelievably fast it is, both on the road and the track.

Still, its owner chose to preserve it as a private museum piece instead, along with the original tool chest, luggage, and watch it originally came with. Hopefully, after paying a record-breaking sum of money for the privilege of owning it, its new owner will do something other than keep it tucked away in a climate-controlled garage somewhere. But given the F1 continues to rise in value year after year, it's, unfortunately, most likely to stay as an investment item until the next deep-pocketed collector pays even more to get their hands on it.