The first Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1 LM has sold for $20,630,000 (£15,772,773.78 million) at auction in Las Vegas, setting a new world record for the highest price ever paid for a new car at auction (excluding charity sales).
The auction took place during the amfAR Gala, hosted alongside the Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix. In something of a fitting entrance for the location, S1 LM made an interesting entrance, suspended beneath a helicopter and lowered into the Wynn hotel venue. Normally, this would be a bit much, but as GMSV call the car “The Special One”, the entrance does make sense.
Only five S1 LMs will ever be built. This record-breaking example, Chassis #1, is the final car in the production run, and the only one to be publicly offered. All five were reportedly purchased by a single buyer when the car debuted at Monterey Car Week in August, but one was later released for auction.
A One-of-a-Kind Customer Experience
The winning bidder hasn’t just bought the car; they will be heavily involved in what happens next to it. They will decide its final specification in one-on-one sessions with Gordon Murray himself. The owner will also have development drives with racing legend Dario Franchitti, access to the engineering team, and input into the final tuning of the car.
Their journey will also be documented in a bespoke 500-page monograph, complete with original sketches and notes from Gordon Murray’s design notebooks.
Built for Pure Driving
The S1 LM draws inspiration from Murray’s iconic McLaren F1 LM, mixing classic proportions with cutting-edge performance. Underneath its sculpted carbon fibre bodywork is a 4.3-litre V12 that revs to 12,100 rpm and produces 720 PS, paired with a newly refined six-speed manual gearbox. Suspension and dynamics are race-inspired, but developed for real-world roads.
Inside, exposed Polish Carbon Fibre and artistic detailing reflect the car’s obsessive approach to craftsmanship. As with all GMSV vehicles, the S1 LM is built around Murray’s seven core principles: Driving Perfection, Lightweight, Engineering Art, A Return to Beauty, Exclusivity, and The Customer Journey.
“This world record auction result is a defining moment for our entire team and for the automotive world. The S1 LM represents everything I have learned in six decades of design – a pure expression of driving perfection, engineering art, and a true return to beauty. To see it achieve this scale of appreciation is truly humbling.”
Professor Gordon Murray CBE
Details about the remaining four cars remain out of public knowledge.
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