Car enthusiast and famous actor Rowan Atkinson is selling his McLaren F1 for £8million.
It has be one of the most interesting second hand cars on sale today: the acting legend behind Mr Bean, Blackadder and more comic legends has owned the supercar since new for 17 years.
In that time, he has had two severe shunts – the latest of which reputedly cost nearly £1m to repair, making it one of the UK’s most expensive ever insurance claims – and covered 41,000 miles.
Atkinson’s McLaren F1 crashes
In 2011 Atkinson crashed the McLaren near to CAR’s offices in Peterborough; he used to live in Northamptonshire and he had a large accident on the A605 near the A1 junction in pouring rain.
The picture above reveals the extent of the damage; but the car was painstakingly restored by McLaren Special Operations, meaning it is now probably one of the best examples in the world.
Atkinson’s burgundy F1 is number 64 out of the run of 107 McLarens ever made. ‘I bought it for the quality of thinking that went into its design, and now it has become a thing of value, it is time for it to be enjoyed by someone else,’ he said.
It’s been a shrewd investment by the comic actor, who paid the list price of £540,000 for it in 1997. It may be no coincidence that he’s currently undergoing an expensive divorce from his wife…