Category: Highlight

  • First Lewis Hamilton Formula One car up for grabs sells for millions at auction

    A race-winning McLaren Formula One car driven by Lewis Hamilton was sold at an RM Sotheby’s auction over the weekend, and the final bid came in at 4.73 million British pounds (approximately $6.45 million).

    It isn’t the highest price paid for a F1 car from the modern era. That honor goes to Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F1 car from the 2021 season that sold in 2017 for $7.5 million. Of course, when it comes to the highest price paid for an F1 car, Juan Manual Fangio’s Mercedes-Benz from the 1954 season takes the prize, selling for almost $30 million back in 2013.

    Hamilton’s car is the McLaren MP4-25 from the 2010 season. It was driven that season by both Hamilton and his teammate at the time, Jenson Button, with its best finish being Hamilton’s win at the Turkish Grand Prix. It’s the first of Hamilton’s former F1 cars to hit an auction block.

    The car was put into storage at McLaren after the 2010 season and only brought out again in 2019 when it underwent a restoration in 2019. The work was performed by McLaren’s heritage department and included a complete teardown of the car, after which all safety-critical items were inspected, tested, and replaced as needed. The engine was also sent over to its original supplier, Mercedes, to have it brought back to factory standard.

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    The car is fully certified by McLaren, and it can still be used for track driving, the listing claims, though even a decade-old F1 car is likely far too much for most drivers to handle. We should also add that you need multiple engineers just to start a modern F1 car, let alone see it run smoothly on a track.

    Powered by a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter V-8, the MP4-25 was notable for introducing the infamous “F-duct.” Named for the positioning of an outlet near the letter “f” in sponsor Vodafone’s name, the duct was activated by the driver covering up a small hole with his leg. This redirected airflow, reducing aerodynamic drag and adding up to 6 mph on straights, according to the listing.

    The F-duct was briefly a must-have feature in F1, allowing teams to keep downforce-generating aerodynamic appendages for corners while eliminating some of the drag penalty on straights. Most teams introduced their own versions, but the system was eventually banned.

    The MP4-25 also represents the end of an era for McLaren. The team began a decline after the 2010 season, in part because it had to play second fiddle to the Mercedes factory team. Hamilton joined Mercedes for the 2013 season, and has now won six of his seven championships with them. Meanwhile, McLaren is once again achieving solid results, and has gone back to Mercedes power after lackluster years with Honda and Renault power units.

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  • The ZBF 7er was a hand-built concept that predicted BMW’s future

    BMW Group Classic has been showcasing long-hidden concept cars and prototypes on its YouTube channel. The latest is the BMW ZBF 7er, a hand-built concept from 1996 that made a few notable predictions of future BMW design and tech.

    “ZBF” is a German acronym for “future BMW family,” Joji Nagashima, a legendary BMW designer who worked on the project (as well as the E39 5-Series and E36 3-Series), explained. It was part of a group of concepts, which also included 5-Series and 3-Series designs, he said.

    The exterior hints at the E65-generation 7-Series, which launched in 2001, while the large vertical grille shows that BMW was toying with such a shape on a modern car long before today’s 4-Series. The ZBF 7er was also much larger than the contemporary E38 7-Series, Nagashima said, again predicting the direction BMW would go with the successor E65 model.

    BMW ZBF 7er concept

    BMW ZBF 7er concept

    The car rides on custom tires specially manufactured by Dunlop, Nagashima said, with hand-cut treads of his own design. The largest tire size commercially available at the time was 19 inches, and designers wanted something larger, he explained. The bodywork of this drivable concept is hand-made as well. The body panels are all hand-beaten aluminum, in the finest coachbuilding tradition.

    While it was built using techniques from the past, the ZBF 7er showcased future technology, including an early version of the now-ubiquitous iDrive rotary controller, and laptops for rear-seat passengers. The sedan also had cameras in place of exterior mirrors, something that has only recently entered production, and still isn’t available in the United States due to regulatory issues.

    BMW has quite a few interesting concept cars and prototypes in its collection. It recently revealed the ICE concept, an early crossover coupe design study, after 17 years, and it kept the E31 M8 prototype stashed away for a decade before showing the car publicly. We’re still waiting for the E34 M5 wagon prototype powered by a McLaren F1 V-12 to see the light of day.

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  • Walter Röhrl and the Porsche 924 Carrera GTS Rally reunited after 40 years

    Porsche recently reunited rally legend Walter Röhrl with the 924 Carrera GTS Rally he drove forty years ago.

    Röhrl and co-driver Christian Geistdörfer raced the 924 in the 1981 German Rally Championship, winning four of seven races. It was the only season that Röhrl competed in rallying with Porsche. He won the 1980 and 1982 World Rally Championship (WRC) Drivers’ titles rallying a Fiat and Opel, respectively, and helped secure the 1983 Constructors’ title for Lancia. He also set a Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record with Audi in 1987.

    While the 924 has a reputation as the bargain Porsche, the Carrera GTS version that formed the basis of the rally car was actually the most expensive car in the lineup in 1981, according to Porsche. That’s because it was a low-volume homologation special for motorsports. Just 50 production cars were built (all painted Guards Red), plus nine prototypes.

    The car that became the 924 Carrera GTS Rally started out as one of those prototypes (the fifth one, specifically). It was fitted with massive fender flares and a prototype 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder without a serial number. That engine survived the entire 1981 rally season and is still in the car today, Porsche noted.

    Walter Röhrl and the Porsche 924 Carrera GTS Rally

    Walter Röhrl and the Porsche 924 Carrera GTS Rally

    Other rally-specific modifications included rear-axle links laminated in fiberglass to protect against damage, skid plates for the oil and transmission, rear-mounted dry-sump lubrication system, and a 928 fuel pump.

    In 1982, the car was given to the Porsche Museum where, aside from occasional outings, it remained for the next 40 years. The automaker decided to get the 924 running again to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1981 rally season, and Röhrl’s 74th birthday.

    This was a recommissioning, not a restoration, Porsche noted. The goal was to get the 924 running without destroying any patina. Mechanical components were thoroughly checked (the engine and turbocharger got an endoscopy), but details like the sun-faded seat belt harnesses embroidered with Röhrl’s and Gesitdörfer’s initials, were left as-is. In a statement, Röhrl said the 924 was a bit of a handful in competition thanks to “enormous” turbo lag, but was still happy to be reunited with his old rally car.

    “This car opened the door to Porsche for me,” Röhrl, who has maintained a close relationship with the automaker throughout the years, said in a statement. “That is why I feel a particularly close bond to it. For me, it’s a journey back in time. I immediately feel 40 years younger.”

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