Mika Häkkinen’s 2013 McLaren P1 prototype is on auction

Auction house Bonhams Cars is auctioning Mika Häkkinen’s 2013 McLaren P1 Coupé Validation Prototype 3 road car.

Offered directly from the two-time Formula 1 World Champion at The “Les Grandes Marques à Monaco” sale on May 10, it’s one of only seven validation prototype (VP) cars built.

This example, VP3, was the lead car in the project’s durability testing programme, and is the first VP to be offered at auction. McLaren created a special booklet for each prototype car, outlining their importance in the project and giving owners more background on the testing that they were involved with.

The P1, in production from 2013 to 2015, was a plug-in hybrid hypercar powered by a 3.8l twin-turbo V8 engine paired with a single electric motor, for combined outputs of 674kW and 900Nm.

The auction car’s accompanying booklet, including the test notes, is a fundamental part of this prototype’s history. This piece of hypercar history has a price estimate of R300m-R400m.

Häkkinen won the Formula One driver’s championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren.

In 2017, McLaren announced that the Finn would be rejoining the company as a brand ambassador when it unveiled the production version of the P1 at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, announcing that only 375 of these exclusive hypercars would be built, and by the end of the year, the entire production run had sold out.

Offered here is the first McLaren ever owned by Häkkinen, and it was tailored by McLaren Special Operations in accordance with his specifications. Its next custodian will also receive an exclusive one-day driving/racing instruction by “The Flying Finn” himself at a location of the buyer’s choice.

One of Häkkinen’s former karts, a 1982 Finnkart 85cc SF A1 with an estimate value of R60,000-R100,000, will also be offered at the Monaco sale.