Formula 1 cars aren't something that come up for sale every day. Sales of race-winning cars are even rarer, with many teams eager to hang on to the machines that earned their hard-won victories It's a remarkable day, then, when Lewis Hamilton's race-winning 2010 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25A is coming up for auction at RM Sotheby's.

The car is listed with a healthy $5-7 million price estimate. This puts it in the ballpark of the most expensive modern Formula 1 car ever—Michael Schumacher's Monaco-winning Ferrari F2001, which sold for $7,504,000 back in 2017. The F2002 in which Schumacher claimed his fifth world championship at the 2002 French Grand Prix later went on to fetch $6,643,750 in 2019. With Hamilton matching the dominant German driver's tally of seven Formula 1 World Championships, there's a definite chance that the car could set a new price record for contemporary Formula 1 sales.

The auction will take place on July 17 at the Silverstone Grand Prix, just prior to the start of Formula 1's first ever qualifying sprint race. Adding a twist to the sale, the car will be driven around the Silverstone circuit live during the auction at speeds exceeding 150 mph. It's a unique concept, one which will let potential bidders see the car in action once more prior to purchase. Of course, it could also prove to be a rare event in which the car under the hammer is destroyed in a crash during the very auction which intends to sell it. The auction house has not stated precisely who will be behind the wheel, but we'd assume they've placed their trust in a safe pair of hands. Due to COVID restrictions, the driver will be someone outside the usual Formula 1 bubble, ruling out Hamilton himself and personalities like Martin Brundle from stepping up to the plate.

The auction is particularly notable for being the first time one of Lewis Hamilton's race-winning cars has been publicly offered for sale. Other Hamilton race-winning cars may have been sold, such as the MP4-22/5A from his 2007 debut season—with the chassis that won at Hungary and Japan reportedly in private hands. That car can be seen lapping at Silverstone on YouTube, though its exact provenance remains unconfirmed. Hamilton's Mercedes AMG W04 from 2013 was also sold in years past, though the chassis that Hamilton drove to victory in Hungary that year was retired late in the season due to structural issues and likely wasn't the actual car sold in 2018.The auction will be watched with interest, both with regards to a potential record breaking sales price and to see where the car actually ends up. Hopefully, the new owner takes it out to stretch its legs once in a while with the help of McLaren's Heritage department.

The 2012 Lexus LFA was a high-water mark for Toyota's luxury brand. The car never got a direct successor, but a practically untouched example with less than 500 miles is scheduled to cross the block at RM Sotheby's Amelia Island auction on May 22.

Finished in Steel Gray, this car isn't as distinctive as the brown LFA that came up for sale earlier this year, but it's still quite rare. Number 430 of 500 cars built, it's one of only 11 finished in this particular hue, according to the listing.

The LFA was meant as a halo car for Lexus, giving the brand more prestige and using some of parent Toyota's Formula One experience to do it. It's powered by a 5.2-liter V-10 that makes 552 hp and 334 lb-ft of torque, with a 9,000-rpm redline. The engine and the LFA's carbon-fiber body still seem modern today, but the 6-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission gives away the car's age.

Production of the LFA ended in December 2012, and the last car reached the U.S. in February 2013. The listing claims Lexus imported approximately 190 cars to the U.S., although other sources say 178 cars were imported.

Either way, the LFA was a slow seller. Five new, unregistered cars remained up for grabs as of January 2020 likely due to the outlandish $375,000 starting price. Some dealerships held onto their LFAs as display pieces to drive showroom traffic.

It's unclear if this LFA will meet its pre-auction estimate of $425,000 to $500,000, which is a significant increase over the $388,300 the owner originally paid for it. However, that's still a lot less than the aforementioned brown LFA, which was listed for sale through an exotic-car dealership earlier this year with a $680,000 asking price.

If you're anything like us, it's fair to assume you spend at least a little bit of your spare time scouring the web for cool cars up for sale. In our perusing today we've come across a 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution on Bring a Trailer, a homologation special built to directly compete with the E30 BMW M3 Sport Evolution for touring-car supremacy. In total, only 502 of the 190E Evo were produced, making them an extremely hot commodity. So far—with the auction ending on May 26—bidding is still at $31,000.

Powered by a longitudinally mounted Cosworth-built 2.5-liter inline-four, the Evolution sends a respectable 202 horsepower to the rear wheels via a five-speed dogleg manual transmission and limited-slip differential; it also revs to a healthy 7200 rpm. The Evolution also featured a self-leveling suspension with a selector switch that would lower the car for track use. Apart from its race-built engine and trick suspension, the Evolution sported a larger wing, flared fenders, and revised front and rear fascias to add to both its looks and downforce.

In a gorgeous hue of blue-black metallic, the 190E Evolution essentially looks like the Batmobile had a love affair with a DTM touring car, and who wouldn't want that? Even the 16-inch alloy wheels suit the car's looks perfectly. Move inside and appreciate the bolstered black leather seats, tartan cloth inserts on the seats and door panels, and wood surrounding the shifter. Maybe it’s just us, but looking at this interior makes us wish manufacturers would be a bit more adventurous with interior design these days. With around 43,000 miles on the clock and a slew of parts replaced recently, including an overhaul of the self-leveling suspension, we're sure the current bid of $31,000 won't hold for long.

This 1990 Corvette ZR-1 is finished in Bright Red over Flame Red leather and powered by a 5.7-liter LT5 V8 paired with a six-speed manual transmission. Equipment includes the Performance Handling Package, FX3 Selective Ride suspension, aftermarket 17″ wheels, four-wheel disc brakes, an aftermarket exhaust system, removable roof panels, power-adjustable sport seats, air conditioning, cruise control, and a Delco Bose combined CD and cassette stereo. The car was first registered in New York and spent time in New Jersey before it was acquired by the selling dealer in March 2021. This ZR-1 has 7k miles and is offered with a window sticker, manufacturer’s literature, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Florida title.

This 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL was sold new by Slavich Brothers Mercedes-Benz in Fresno, California, and was acquired by the current owner in 1983. The car is finished in Red over a black interior and is powered by a 2.8-liter M130 inline-six paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Equipment includes a body-color “Pagoda” hardtop, a black soft top, 14″ wheels, Frigiking air conditioning, and a Becker Grand Prix radio with an Olympia cassette player. Service in anticipation of the sale consisted of rebuilding the steering box and replacing the brake booster, transmission cooler lines, suspension components, mounts for the engine, transmission, and rear differential, and more as detailed below. The car was previously offered on BaT in March 2021 and withdrawn due to a mechanical problem. The selling dealer reports that the ignition system ballast resistors were subsequently replaced, and this W113 SL is now offered on dealer consignment with recent service records, owner’s manuals and literature, a copy of the data card, a tool kit, and a clean California title.

1970 PORSCHE 917 K

| Monterey, California

13 - 14 August 2021

Chassis No.
917-031/026

• The Mike Hailwood/David Hobbs JW Automotive Gulf Racing 1970 Le Mans entry
• Later the Ernst Kraus/Jürgen Barth 1971-1973 European Interserie contender
• Features heavily in the race footage used by Solar Productions in Steve McQueen’s seminal racing film Le Mans,
• Exceptional provenance with only three, long term owners since 1974

Please note that this lot is sold on a Bill of Sale.Please check back soon as our dedicated cataloguing team is preparing the description for this lot.

To any automotive or motorsport enthusiast, the Porsche 917 needs no introduction, and it is the car’s early 917K coupe form, that truly ignites the passions of these enthusiasts most strongly. Commonly regarded as ‘The World’s Greatest Sports Car’, boasting a near-perfect flat-12 cylinder, air-cooled engine that could propel the car to speeds in excess of 230 mph, the Porsche 917 set a standard for design, engineering, and sheer performance that took endurance sports car design to new levels and which proved dominant over three incredible seasons of World Championship racing.

Chassis ‘026’ was constructed as one of the three 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race entries of the JW Automotive Engineering / Gulf Racing team, and was distinctive for having a different version of the Gulf livery, as its entire roof was sprayed orange down to the beltline, in contrast to the orange centerline stripe of its sister cars. Carrying race number ‘22’, its driver pairing was David Hobbs and multiple World Champion motorcycle star, Mike Hailwood. In difficult, wet conditions, the car completed 49 laps, running as high as 3rd overall at one point, but on the 50th lap Hailwood aquaplaned and crashed, retiring the car for the duration of the race.

Following Le Mans, the chassis was repaired by the factory and subsequently re-numbered ‘031’, being rebodied as a Porsche 917 Spyder with lightweight open bodywork intended to contest the 1972 European InterSerie Championship, for Group 7 sports racing cars.

In this form the car contested the 1971-1972 European race series by privateer Ernst Kraus, making its debut on April 3 that year in the 300 km Goodyear PokalRennen at the Nürburgring in Germany. Kraus raced the car extensively throughout 1972 before it was acquired by Georg Loos and his Gelo Racing Team. During the 1973 InterSerie Championship it continued to perform well against strong competition, achieving several notable results. Following its retirement from competitive racing in 1974, it joined the prestigious Chandon Collection where it remained until 1988. The 917K was then acquired by noted enthusiast and collector Mike Amalfitano with whom it remained until passing into the current owner’s care.

The current gentleman owner acquired the Porsche in Spyder form over a decade ago and has since fully restored the car, returning it to its original and seminal, Gulf-liveried Le Mans coupe specification. The restoration was executed without regard to cost and the results are impressive in every sensory regard, from the stunning design and livery to the unmistakable symphony of the boxer-engined 12 cylinder at full revs. Making a sound unlike any other, the Porsche 917K is ‘on the button’, maintained as if a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans is its next event. The McQueen ‘Le Mans Legend’ 917K represents a singular opportunity to acquire not just an icon, but the archetypal example of the car widely regarded as ‘the greatest sports racing car ever’.

Between 1968 and 1971, Lamborghini made only 338 examples of its now-legendary Miura. Originally equipped with a roaring transverse-mounted 350-hp V12 and five-speed gearbox as a P400 in 1966, the 1968 S version was tuned for 20 more horsepower for an even 370.

A very fine specimen of a 1968 Miura P400 S with bodywork by famed coachbuilder Nuccio Bertone is prepped and ready for the Gooding & Company auction block starting on June 11. It's expected to bring down the hammer at a million dollars, and I don't doubt this collector's gem will generate that number and then some.