Small collection of McLaren F1 paraphernalia will be auctioned

Just when we thought we’d never find replacement accessories for our pair of McLaren F1s, RM Sotheby’s has a small bundle of decent equipment up for grabs for the genre-defining hypercar in their online-only Open Roads sale. We have to create shelf space in our Swiss chalet garage. Maybe we will put our extra set of Fabergé eggs in the cellar and move our box of Pateks to the attic?

Hey we can dream. More realistically, RM Sotheby’s has included reasonable estimates on this small collection of F1 paraphernalia, and if those numbers are true, interested bidders don’t have to be in the same tax bracket as current F1 owners to get a physical piece of hypercar history. There are certainly no bargains here, but some coolers also fall under the five-digit mark.

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Our first choice is this legitimate McLaren F1 shifter, which includes a plumb gear knob and a supporting linkage shaft – presumably made of aluminum, magnesium, or titanium. In the batch description it is pointed out that this does not come from an existing F1, but was instead developed as a replacement component during the development of the F1 GTR. So you don’t have to bid against a feverish F1 owner willing to spend millions to put that stolen gear stick back into their car. Or maybe you will. Who knows? If that person doesn’t show up, plan on hitting the high pre-sale estimate of just under $ 6,000.

This gear stick will look great on your desk too. Or stick out the center console of your shabby 1980s Ford Mustang project, assuming you can figure out how to mix fine English craftsmanship with Detroit’s finest 1980s pig iron. You will also need some tools for this job. So how about keeping it in the family with the RM Sotheby’s McLaren F1 toolkit? Yes, this is your rare attempt at owning a set of the F1’s famous gold toned titanium tool roll that came with every car.

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The F1’s tool roll was sourced from French toolmaker Facom and stayed in line with the F1’s absurd focus on weight reduction. With the exception of the steel pliers, each piece is carved from titanium and coated with titanium nitride, which gives it its golden hue. This particular kit comes from an F1 that caught fire and has burn marks on the leather roll and screwdriver bits. All with you for a high pre-sale estimate of around $ 14,000.

If we can’t snap the gear lever, we’ll be content with the carbon-fiber F1 wing end plate, which is also available. Nothing special here – just a square made of carbon fiber with the brand “F1 McLaren” that is supposed to sit on both ends of the rear spoiler on cars with the Aero package. This plate was from chassis no. 072 kept separately after its 2014 crash and apparently as a keepsake after the car was rebuilt. This is one of the more affordable pieces from F1 bits, with RM Sotheby’s estimating a high final bid of around $ 1,400. As a bonus, the winner will also receive an F1 sales brochure.

Finally, RM Sotheby’s has the highly desirable F1 Owner’s Manual and accompanying service record and warranty manual. The F1 instruction manual has its own legend. The beautifully bound book is full of hand-drawn illustrations and diagrams by longtime McLaren employee Mark Roberts that take it light years from other supercar brochures of the same era. This is one of the most sought-after pieces in F1 history, so the pre-sale estimate predicts a high bid of around $ 11,000 for each book.

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