The McLaren MP4-12Cs will be sold next month and are expected to fetch up to €440,000.
The MP4-12C, launched in 2011, set the template for modern McLaren supercars, and now two of them—one each formerly owned by F1 champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton—are heading to auction.
The cars are expected to fetch up to a combined half-million dollars, according to Broad Arrow’s estimates. Hamilton’s 2012 MP4-12C could hammer down for slightly more than Button’s, or around $300,000 compared to $200,000, respectively.
Both cars were customized for their owner. In Hamilton’s case, that meant choosing the Volcano Red paint and all the carbon fiber on the outside, including on the spoiler, mirror casings, and diffuser. The race car driver also chose tinted windows, installed after the car rolled off the factory floor. Inside, he opted for red and black upholstery and even more carbon fiber. The interior trim and steering wheel were untouched, according to Broad Arrow, though the MP4-12C‘s steering wheel was already designed like Hamilton’s, and thinned to account for the thickness of his gloves.
The car was to be delivered at the time to Hamilton’s home in Switzerland but was ultimately delivered to Hamilton’s home in Monaco. His MP4-12C was later sold to an owner in France’s Côte d’Azur. That owner, Broad Arrow says, drove “the important McLaren sparingly” and also completed “commission consistent maintenance by McLaren Monaco since 2012.” The car has 8,938 kilometers on the odometer, or around 5,553 miles.
Button’s MP4-12C, meanwhile, is actually the second he configured, after the first, a black example, was never delivered because he gave it back to McLaren to aid development. Button’s second configured MP4-12C is painted in Elite Pearl White and, similarly, has lots of carbon fiber everywhere that was specified by the 2009 Formula 1 champion. The car’s interior is also red and black, though Button went for leather instead of Alcantara.
The interior of Button’s MP4-12C also has more carbon fiber than Hamilton’s with the trim made of carbon fiber and the steering wheel. Button’s was also eventually sold to a new owner, who Broad Arrow identifies as a British collector who bought the car in 2013. Button’s MP4-12C has been “recently” serviced at McLaren Monaco, but has more time on the road, or 12,438 kilometers (7,728 miles) on the odometer.
The increased use of Button’s MP4-12C, along with his slightly lesser star power than the still-active Hamilton, likely accounts for most of the discrepancy in the two cars’ estimated prices. Broad Arrow plans to sell the cars on May 25 at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este near Lake Como in Italy.
