The 2026 McLaren F1 has made history by being sold at auction for around €10 million before it has even been built. The car will only reach its new owner in 2028.
McLaren achieved something unprecedented in the modern era of Formula 1: selling a future race car before it physically exists. The car, designated MCL40A, which Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will race in the 2026 F1 World Championship, was sold for $11.4 million, roughly €10 million, despite not having completed a single kilometer or even been assembled yet.
This extraordinary deal instantly places the MCL40A among the most expensive Formula 1 cars ever sold, with a unique detail: the car does not yet physically exist. Assembly will only begin in the coming months in preparation for the winter testing sessions scheduled for the end of January 2026.
From a sporting perspective, this is a pure gamble. McLaren secured this sum before the car has even had a chance to prove itself under the new technical regulations that will come into effect in 2026.
The new cars will keep the 1.6-liter turbo V6, but with a 50/50 split between thermal and electric power, sustainable fuels, and simplified aerodynamics to reduce drag and turbulence. A complete reset makes it impossible to predict the competitive order. Yet someone decided to invest, betting on the future of the Woking team.
The MCL40A will not be delivered immediately: the buyer will receive it in 2028, after the season in which it will be raced by Norris and Piastri, and the following season, when it will be used for TPC test sessions. In the meantime, McLaren will provide a 2025 show car as a temporary solution.
The package also includes a visit to the McLaren Technology Centre, a meeting with the drivers and CEO Zak Brown, and hospitality at iconic motorsport events, from Formula 1 to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500.
In the same auction, the British manufacturer also sold a 2026 Arrow McLaren IndyCar for around €780,000 and a future 2027 WEC Hypercar for over €7 million, confirming a commercial high point for the brand.
The all-time record remains far off: the 1954 Mercedes W196R sold in 2025 for over €51 million. But never before has someone paid eight figures for a Formula 1 car that still lives in the future.
Before the 2026 lights even go out, McLaren has already won its off-track race: proving that today, even a car that does not yet exist can be worth €10 million.
The sale of the MCL40A serves as a striking testament to McLaren’s soaring brand value and the immense hype surrounding the 2026 technical reset. By securing a ten-million-euro price tag for a car that currently only exists as a set of blueprints and digital simulations, the team has redefined the market for sporting memorabilia. As Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri prepare to pilot this high-stakes investment, the pressure on the engineering team at Woking has never been higher to ensure that this “future” machine delivers the championship-winning performance its new owner has already paid for.
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