Nick Mason’s McLaren F1 GTR Could be the £26 million Star of Monterey Car Week

Every August, most of the world’s wealthiest car enthusiasts flock to a misty seaside town in Northern California to consume their own body weight in Champagne, give the world’s linen industry a major economic boost and, occasionally, look at some cars.

We’re talking, of course, about Monterey Car Week, an event that just seems to get bigger every year, and one defined by the mega-money auctions that take place there. The 2026 edition will play host to a particularly special one, though: McLaren F1 GTR chassis 10R, a car you’ve likely seen before, with its eye-popping livery that’s liable to inexplicably leave you craving a thin burger and some deep-fried reconstituted chicken bits.

Any of the 106 McLaren F1s ever built are now some of the most valuable cars on Earth, with values now regularly exceeding £20 million, but this one’s not just any F1. It’s a GTR racing version, just like the one that famously won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans outright, and one of only nine built to 1996 specification.

Not only that, but it’s an XP car, denoting an early prototype, and therefore one of the most sought-after F1 chassis of all. Built ahead of the 1996 season, it never raced, but was involved in testing and pre-qualifying duties for that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of its other roles, though, was promotion, which is how it came to be finished in its lurid red-and-yellow ‘Pop Art’ colour scheme.

Initially retained by the McLaren factory once its job was done, it was soon sold directly to Nick Mason, a prolific car collector with a sideline as the drummer for one of the greatest rock bands of all time, Pink Floyd. McLaren also had it converted for road use for Mason in 1999, meaning that for the last 27 years, it’s been occasionally possible to see this fully-fledged McLaren F1 racing car just driving along like regular traffic, as well as popping up at plenty of events over the years. It was also lightly crashed at Goodwood in 2017, but it's since been treated to a full restoration by McLaren gurus Lanzante.

Now, though, Mason has decided to part ways with the car, where it’ll be the headliner among RM Sotheby’s Car Week sales. It should come as little surprise, then, that the auction firm values it ‘in excess’ of £26 million, or $35 million. Quite how far in excess that might go, we’ll find out on 15 August.