Sir Lewis Hamilton’s 2010 McLaren-Mercedes F1 car listed for sale
The 522kW V8 is believed to be the first of Lewis Hamilton’s Grand Prix-winning vehicles to come up for auction.
Sir Lewis Hamilton’s 2010 Turkish Grand Prix-winning McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25A Formula One car has been listed for sale, with price expectations in excess of US$5,000,000 (AU$6,500,000).
Registered through RM Sotheby Auctions, it is unclear who currently owns the car. However, it appears to be stored at McLaren's private headquarters in Woking, suggesting the British manufacturer could be looking to liquidate some of its vast collection of automotive assets.
Drive comes from a mid-mounted 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated V8 petrol engine designed and built by Mercedes-Benz, capable of sending up to 522kW (at 18,000rpm) to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
That power figure is particularly impressive when you consider the car tips the scales at just 620kg with a driver strapped in, thanks to its rigid-but-featherweight carbon-fibre honeycomb composite monocoque.
The MP4-25A is also significant as the first F1 car to feature the controversial (and eventually banned) 2010 F-duct aerodynamic device, which helped reduce drag and gave the vehicle a (approximately) 10km/h boost on the straights.
The now-seven-time World Champion's current employer Mercedes-AMG is known to keep the majority of his race-winning cars, and it’s believed this is the first time such a vehicle has come up for public auction.
The listing says: “While client confidentiality precludes disclosing exactly how many [of Lewis Hamilton's cars] exist in private ownership, it’s believed to be only a scarce few.”
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