Gordon Murray S1 LM chassis #1 sold for $20.63 million at RM Sotheby's Las Vegas F1 auction, setting record for most expensive new car at auction excluding charity salesOnly five S1 LM examples built as McLaren F1 LM spiritual successor, featuring 4.3-liter naturally aspirated V12 revving to 12,100 rpm producing over 700 hp with manual gearboxLowered roofline, bespoke front splitter, dual-element rear wing, ultralight carbon fiber panels, Le Mans-inspired lights, and race-inspired central driving position cockpit The McLaren F1 LM-inspired Gordon Murray Automotive S1 LM has been sold for a record price. The ultra-rare hypercar and the first-ever S1 LM, chassis number one, was offered for sale by RM Sotheby's on the sidelines of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The final price reached a whopping $20.63 million, making it the most expensive new car ever sold at auction, excluding charitable sales. Which is significant because charity auctions regularly inflate values beyond rational market levels, but this sale represents genuine collector demand. Created by the legendary British racing car designer Gordon Murray, the S1 LM is said to be the spiritual successor of the McLaren F1 LM. Only five examples were built, making it considerably rarer than the F1 LM, which saw five units plus an additional development car. The car was flown above the city of Las Vegas beneath a helicopter during the live auction, which is properly theatrical and exactly the sort of spectacle that justifies a $20 million price tag. Nothing says "exclusive hypercar" quite like helicopter delivery during an auction. The S1 LM features a lowered roofline, a bespoke front splitter, a rear diffuser, and a dual-element rear wing. It has ultralight carbon fiber body panels and Le Mans-inspired lights. The car has a race-inspired cockpit with a central driving position, the signature Gordon Murray touch that defined the McLaren F1 and makes every other supercar's offset driving position feel compromised. The central seating position remains the purest way to experience a performance car, placing the driver exactly on the car's centerline for perfect weight distribution and optimal sight lines. Powering the S1 LM is a larger 4.3-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine that revs to 12,100 rpm and makes over 700 horsepower. It's paired with a manual gearbox and features bespoke suspension. That 12,100 rpm redline is properly mental, the sort of number that makes modern turbocharged engines look positively leisurely. Naturally aspirated V12s revving beyond 12,000 rpm are becoming extinct in the modern automotive landscape, making the S1 LM's powertrain genuinely special beyond just the horsepower figures. The $20.63 million sale price positions the S1 LM among the most valuable new cars ever sold, comparable to bespoke Bugatti one-offs and ultra-limited Pagani specials. For context, McLaren F1 values have appreciated dramatically over the years, with examples now regularly exceeding $20 million at auction. The S1 LM achieving similar pricing while new demonstrates extraordinary confidence in Gordon Murray's vision and the car's future collectability. RM Sotheby's Las Vegas auction during the F1 Grand Prix weekend provided the perfect setting for this sale. The combination of Formula 1's glamorous atmosphere, wealthy international collectors in attendance, and the spectacle of helicopter delivery created ideal conditions for record-breaking results. The buyer, whose identity remains undisclosed, now owns chassis number one of five, the most desirable example of an already-exclusive hypercar. Gordon Murray's reputation as one of automotive history's greatest designers adds significant value to anything bearing his name. The McLaren F1 remains the benchmark against which all subsequent supercars are measured, and Murray's continued pursuit of driving purity through the GMA brand has earned him devoted followers willing to pay extraordinary sums for his creations. The S1 LM represents his most extreme road car yet, combining track-focused performance with the central driving position philosophy he pioneered decades ago. The sale establishes a new benchmark for Gordon Murray Automotive's positioning in the hypercar market. With chassis number one achieving $20.63 million, the remaining four S1 LM examples presumably carry similar values, placing the entire production run's worth around $100 million. That's serious money for five cars, but scarcity combined with Murray's legendary status and the S1 LM's extreme specifications justify the pricing for collectors seeking the ultimate naturally aspirated V12 driving experience.
