This August, one of McLaren Automotive’s most spectacular creations to date will cross the auction block at the Monterey Car Week. This is Number 85 of just 106 McLaren Speedtails ever built, and with just 71 miles on the odometer, it is estimated to fetch anywhere between $1.5 million $2 million at RM Sotheby’s.
Commissioned through McLaren’s elite Special Operations (MSO) division, this 2020 Speedtail #85 is especially desirable, not only for its low mileage and incredible specification, but also for its long list of rare options amounting to ~$248,000. Finished in a bespoke hue called Fresno Valentina Violet. Serving as a contrast to the exterior, it features a Vintage Full Tan aniline leather in the cabin, covering everything from the headliner to the door sills. Matching stitching and launch-pattern quilting add to the opulence of this build, with $125,000 just in interior options.
Now onto those rare aforementioned MSO options: Magnetite and polished Zircon trim, titanium highlights, carbon speed covers over the front wheels, and black 10-spoke lightweight alloys. Even the exhaust is finished in stealthy titanium and seamlessly blends into the rear diffuser. After initial delivery, in February 2021 to McLaren Scottsdale, the owner commissioned a gloss carbon-fiber MSO Roof Scoop, a $112,000 upgrade installed post-delivery. The original flat roof is still included.
Now the Speedtail is the third member of McLaren’s elite Ultimate Series, joining the P1 and Senna, but unlike its siblings, it isn’t chasing lap times at the race track. Instead, it’s aimed squarely at achieving the highest possible speed with maximum comfort. The Speedtail is a Hyper-GT, a term that McLaren coined to describe this car’s unique place in automotive history.
Beneath its slippery and elongated teardrop-shaped carbon-fiber skin, reminiscent of Longtail (LT) models and a super-low Cd of just 0.278 (most EVs hover between 0.20-0.25), lies one of McLaren’s most ambitious drivetrains to date: a hybrid setup pairing a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with an electric motorior developed using the company’s Formula E tech. The combined output is an astonishing 1,036 horsepower.
That’s enough to launch the Speedtail to 186 mph in just 12.8 seconds, with a top speed of 250 mph. Dry weight is just 3,305 pounds. When you’re ready to hit those numbers, you can engage Velocity Mode. This lowers the suspension by 1.4 inches, retracts the digital side-view cameras, and reconfigures the active aerodynamics to slice through the air with exceptional efficiency. Now the 250 mph top speed makes it the Speedtail, the fastest McLaren, period, but something even faster is in the works as we speak.
Like the legendary Gordon Murray-designed McLaren F1 that inspired it, the Speedtail features a three-seat layout with the driver positioned in the center with room for two more passengers, and combines nostalgia with futurism. As for the #85 Speetail, all servicing and inspections have been carried out at McLaren dealerships in Scottsdale and Newport Beach. It is eligible for U.S. road use under the “Show or Display” exemption and offers impeccable provenance for collectors and comes with factory luggage, a charger, a body cover, and a factory tool kit.
Source: RM Sotheby’s, @Robin Adams
