Offered directly from the single ownership of double F1 World Champion McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen
2020 McLaren Speedtail
Chassis no. 025/106

• Built for Lotus and McLaren Grand Prix star, and winner of the F1 World Drivers’ Championship for McLaren, 1998-1999, Mika Häkkinen
• 50km from new, car number 25 to reflect the number of fastest laps achieved in his F1 career
• Originally costing £1,928,333 (excluding tax) plus luggage, one of just 106 Speedtails built for selected McLaren customers
• Presented in ‘Contour Effect’ Volcano Red with ‘Contour Pack’ Nerello Red exterior and bespoke, semi-aniline Vintage Tan/black interior
• Offered tax free with original order confirmation and purchase invoice, all owners accessories, books and fitted luggage set

“Winning gives you such amazing confidence. People stop asking when you’re going to win because it’s done. You can focus on the next challenge, which was winning more, and winning World Championships…” – which he did, twice. Mika Häkkinen speaking after his first F1 victory at the 1997 European Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain

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“It has been labelled the spiritual successor to the legendary F1, but the Speedtail is something even more inspiring” – British magazine Autocar’s take on the much-awaited McLaren hypercar

“The Speedtail has a claimed top speed of 250mph. Having driven a Chiron and felt the way the McLaren pulls north of two hundred, I can only say that claim seems very conservative” – Chris Harris tries a pre-production prototype in early 2020 for Top Gear magazine

With a central driving position flanked by two staggered passenger seats, production limited to the same 106 chassis as the F1, clever packaging giving the car a surprising level of practicality, colossal performance and a quality of ride that sets standards for the genre, comparisons with the legendary F1 are inevitable.

However, time and again experienced road testers commented that in many ways the Speedtail was even better. It only lacked a competition record, a factor which greatly raised the F1’s legendary status. But neither car was designed for racing, and the Speedtail’s raison d’être was to be the fastest, most comfortable hypercar ever built, with the greatest attention paid to weight-saving and aerodynamics. These ingredients, coupled with a 1,035bhp hybrid powerplant, accomplished the task with ease.

The ‘Choice of Champions’ is an ad man’s favourite, used to sell all manner of consumer products over many decades. In the case of this McLaren Speedtail, it’s a fact.

The 25th of the 106 Speedtails built was commissioned by 1998-1999 F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen. The chassis number was allocated to honour the number of fastest F1 laps in Mika’s career.

The McLaren Speedtail

The Woking company’s third attempt – after the P1 and Senna – to repeat the success of its ground-breaking 1990s F1 is probably the most successful. Like its immediate predecessors the Speedtail is powered by a twin-turbocharged V8. However, after the petrol-engine-only Senna, McLaren chose a hybrid system debuted on the P1 for the Speedtail – but boosted by over 100bhp. The improved M840T motor gave the Speedtail 1,035bhp vs. the Senna’s 812bhp and the P1’s 916bhp.

Coupled with streamlined, lightweight bodywork and a strong carbonfibre monocoque, McLaren revealed the Speedtail would just top 250mph and scorch to 186mph in only 12.8 seconds, at which point it would leave the heavier (by 500kg) Bugatti Chiron trailing.

Like the F1, the Speedtail’s cockpit is for a driver and two lucky passengers. Each seat is moulded into the monocoque and trimmed in what McLaren calls ‘directional leather finish’. Easy to slide into, the covering subtly holds driver and passengers securely in place. The central driving position, adjustable multi-link suspension, and active aerodynamic systems sum up McLaren’s intention to offer a drive like no other. There are no conventional wing mirrors; two small cameras beam images from around the car to the cockpit. When entering maximum-speed, ‘Velocity Mode’, the car retracts the cameras, lowers the suspension by 1.4in and changes the aerovane configuration.

A feature of the car that gives it its name is an extended tail that flows effortlessly from the cabin. Autocar described it as “achingly beautiful”. For Top Gear magazine, normally plain-speaking Chris Harris waxed lyrical: “…somehow simultaneously futuristic but clearly referencing beautiful forms from the past… in the finest tradition of car styling, primarily influenced by the intended activity of the vehicle itself – in this case, very high speeds.”

The Speedtail was only ever made available to VIP clients chosen by McLaren and the production capped at 106 examples to match its illustrious forebear, the F1. The selection process was strict: invitees were requested to make a £300,000 Customer Application Fee and £200,000 Production Slot Reservation Fee before work – starting with decisions on bespoke specification – commenced on the car. Such was the enthusiasm for owners to truly make ‘their Speedtail’, the cost of additional options often ran to many £10ks.

This car, ordered by Mika Häkkinen, is one. Carrying a list price of £1,750,000, extras specified by the former McLaren No. 1 driver added £174,333 to the final invoice that, with transport, came to £1,928,333 when delivered in July 2020. The fitted luggage, unique to the Speedtail, was billed separately.

This motor car

Despite his special status as a former World Champion, Mika Häkkinen’s Speedtail was ordered, like all others, on an ‘Application for inclusion on the McLaren BP23 vehicle confirmed customer list’ form. The paperwork, dated 20 December 2018, accompanies the car as do two other documents itemising the £300,000 and £200,000 commissioning deposits. Mika recalls:

“Back in 2018 I was invited to drive the Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 GTR at Laguna Seca for a few laps. What a machine! The central driving position, the sound, the responsiveness even for a car nearly 25 years old was amazing. So when factory insiders told me about its successor they were working on, I studied the specs and thought, ‘Ok, this is not like other supercars, this is going to be very special.’

“So I made the call, but even with my relationship with McLaren it wasn’t easy. Finally, they came back and said, ‘We might be able to supply you a car, but we have Rowan Atkinson asking too, and you’re both VIPs but we only have one slot left. Would you like it?’”

The build process took two years from order acceptance to delivery. With studio photography, the detailed pdf that was prepared for the car comes to 15 pages. Every surface that is painted or treated in some special way is itemised. For example, the exterior is detailed as follows:

Paint Effects
Contour Effect Paint: Volcano Red EC0006E with Contour Pack in Nerello Red MCL/94564

Paint
Body Panel Zones: Painted BPS (Carbon Fibre) Volcano Red EC0006E Gloss 80 GU Body Side Openings: Painted Carbon Fibre Black Satin 20 GU

Volcano Red, a shimmering deep metallic, has become a hallmark of road car production at Woking and is almost as celebrated as Papaya (orange) in the colour range. Paired with sections in machined aluminium and diamond-cut, gloss black roadwheels, the effect is dramatic, yet retains a subtlety typical of the British marque.

Inside, the interior is mostly covered in Semi Aniline Vintage Tan leather, which also extends to the flooring of the passenger area as the directional leather finish is very hard-wearing. The pedals are plain, machined aluminium while other metal sections such as the steering-wheel paddles and vents are crafted from alloy with a Galvanic Grey sandblasted finish. The only other colour inside is black: for the seat belts, steering-wheel rim, main section of driver’s seat and driver’s floor. A McLaren ‘tick’ is embossed in each headrest. The two keys accompanying the car are in matching Volcano Red with black.

Since delivery in July 2020, the car has been carefully stored in Switzerland. Its tax status remains ‘in bond’ so ‘025’ can be exported without wasting any Swiss taxes.

It is literally ‘factory fresh’. Built for – and owned since new by – a significant double McLaren F1 World Champion, this must surely be the most special Speedtail in existence and would sit proudly in any world class collection.

A few final words from Mika:

“I’m really pleased the way this car turned out, the colours, the attention to detail, its technical ability and its unique look. The team at McLaren really went the extra mile for me and I’m super grateful. I just expected to be less busy now and with more time to enjoy driving in my free time, but life is still full speed which is why I’ve finally decided to let the Speedtail go. If the new owner wants, I’ll be happy to take them for a drive and sign the car.

“If they have time, I also know a good place for lunch afterwards!”