Gordon Murray Special Vehicles’ S1 LM – the first project from the company’s Special Vehicles division and a modern homage to the McLaren F1 LM – has sold for $20,630,000 at an RM Sotheby’s auction in Las Vegas, setting a new world record for a brand new car sold at auction, excluding charitable sales.
The car offered was not a completed S1 LM but the opportunity to work directly with Professor Gordon Murray on the development, specification and final set-up of chassis #1. Known internally as ‘The Special One’, it is the first of just five examples that will be built, each conceived to mark 30 years since the McLaren F1 GTR’s victory at Le Mans in 1995.
The dramatic tone of the evening was set well before bidding began: the S1 LM arrived at the amfAR Gala suspended below a helicopter, descending into the Wynn Las Vegas venue during the city’s Formula 1 weekend. Fierce competition followed between bidders in the room and collectors joining remotely.
As before, the appeal of the S1 LM lies as much in its philosophy as its specification. The car is powered by a bespoke 4.3-litre Cosworth-developed V12 producing around 720bhp at 12,100rpm, set within a heavily reworked carbon monocoque that is lighter, lower and more rigid than the T.50 chassis from which it evolves. The commitment to an analogue driving experience remains central: a six-speed manual gearbox, target kerbweight of 957kg, and exposed carbon bodywork just 0.6mm thick underline Murray’s long-held principles of lightness and purity.
The successful bidder will now take part in a uniquely involved development process, including sessions with Murray himself and with Dario Franchitti, who serves as Executive Product and Brand Director at the Gordon Murray Group. They will also witness wind-tunnel testing and take part in calibration drives before final sign-off. Each owner receives a 500-page monograph documenting the S1 LM’s creation, complete with Murray’s sketches and notes.
All five S1 LMs were originally purchased as a group ahead of their unveiling at Monterey Car Week in 2025. While the identity of the remaining four chassis owners remains undisclosed, the sale of chassis #1 sets a notable benchmark for the market and for Gordon Murray’s most exclusive programme to date.
