Better known as Mr Bean across the globe, Rowan Atkinson's love for cars is no secret. Remember his dark purple McLaren F1? The one he is known to have crashed at least twice? Yes, the British comedian had put up his beloved supercar for sale with an asking price of 8 million pounds, which roughly translates to Rs. 788,133,602 (at current exchange rates). Just so you know, the car's original price was 5.4 million pounds.
Purchased in 1997, Atkinson and his McLaren F1 have been involved in two reported crashes since then. The first crash occured in 1999, when the comedian hit a Rover Metro; it was a low-speed hit and didn't do much harm, at least compared to the second crash. In 2011, the car hit a tree, after Atkinson lost control, and was almost severed in half. The cost to rebuild the F1 was estimated to be a sweet 910,000 pounds. And according to Western Daily Press, the amount was paid by Atkinson's insurance company.
Fact check: Mr Bean's McLaren F1 has clocked in 41,000 miles.
The rear-wheel drive, manual transmission McLaren F1 is powered by a mid-mounted 6.1-litre V12 engine that develops 621 horses. It does not feature any driving assists and can go from standstill to 100Km/h in 3.2 seconds. It offers a top-speed of about 388Km/h.
The sale was managed by Taylor & Crawley - a classic and supercar broker based in London. Interestingly this company is now owned by David Clark, ex-McLaren sales director and the person who sold the McLaren F1 in question to Rowan Atkinson. Unfortunately, the concerned parties haven't revealed the price the supercar went for. However, like we mentioned above, the original asking price was £8 million i.e. about $12 million.
(Image Courtesy: grrc.goodwood.com)
