I will never buy a car without test-driving it first. No matter how much or how little I’m about to fork over, I need to know with my own senses how a car feels to drive before the deal is done. Even if it’s a brand-new, right-off-the-boat vehicle that I’ve previously had as a press car, I’ll make sure to take mine for a test drive first to make sure everything matches up.
A test drive is one of the most important parts of the car-buying process, and skipping it could mean missing out on valuable info like weird noises, sketchy brakes, inconsistent power delivery, tired suspension—the list goes on. On a new car, it can reveal manufacturing defects, missing parts, or stuff that hasn’t been removed in the delivery process (like those shipping blocks that sit in springs for transport).
My point is, it seems pretty nuts to me to buy a car without driving it first. That’s why I’m so surprised to see that someone just dropped $20,630,000 on a Gordon Murray S1 LM that neither they nor anyone else has driven before.
What’s The Big Deal?
I can sort of understand why someone would drop $20 million on something like a McLaren F1 at auction. Countless reviews of the car from trusted sources say it’s one of the best-driving vehicles ever built. It also has a serious racing pedigree, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995.
Those are the same reasons why someone would spend $50 million on an old Ferrari or nearly triple that on an old Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR—the most expensive vehicle ever sold at auction. These cars have a powerful history behind them, and lots of people singing their praises.
The S1 LM, meanwhile, has none of that. No one has ever driven it, raced it, or even seen it on the move. Gordon Murray hasn’t built any operational examples—the car you see here is a display buck with no powertrain. The sale was for the last production slot, not for an actual car that exists.
If I were bidding on this car, how it drives would be at the top of my mind. How could I commit an eight-figure sum to a vehicle if I don’t know how it feels? What if it’s bad? Even if I were a billionaire, I’d be pretty mad I just blew $20 million on a car that’s not any fun. Would I be able to get my money back in this case? That’s not how auctions work? Oh, okay then.
I’m Sure It’ll Be Fine, But My Brain Can’t Take It
Of course, there’s a near-zero chance the S1 LM will be a dud. It’s the brainchild of Gordon Murray, the guy who conceived the McLaren F1. His company, Gordon Murray Automotive, more recently built the T.50, a modern F1 redux that people seem to love. Plus, the specs are pretty ridiculous. How can a four-liter Cosworth V12 revving to 11,500 RPM and a manual transmission in a car that weighs less than a modern Miata be bad?
Even if it is bad, the lucky buyer of this car might be able to change that. Along with the car itself, the auction winner will get the opportunity to participate in the car’s final development process. They’ll even get to join chief test driver and three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti on development drives. So theoretically, they’ll be able to tell engineers what they don’t like and have those things addressed before final delivery. Of course, this is all happening after the auction, so if there’s something that can’t be changed, they’re out of luck.
I’m sure whoever won this auction is going to have an incredible time driving the S1 LM. This sale is just the latest in a growing trend of carmakers being able to extract millions of dollars from people just on clout and name recognition alone. Plus, if the person who bought this didn’t want it for some reason, the healthy bidding suggests there are plenty of others who would line up for the chance.
My brain can’t calculate spending even $1,500 on a car without driving it first, much less $20 million. So being able to take that kind of gamble with such a large sum must be nice. I guess there are levels to this.
Top graphic image: RM/GMA
Just cause doesn’t look like anyone has actually done the maths, and while very simple doing it brings to light just how bananas billionaire class really is.
Lets assume single billionaire. $20m is 2%
For a single millionaire, 2% = $20k
Say you’ve got $100k, 2% = $2k.
I’d say unlikely a ‘single’ billionaire is buying this, its maybe 0.2% of their net-wealth. Which if you’re making $100k pa is $200 per year. It is genuinely less that what most people on here would spend on coffee every 2 months, relatively.