Gordon Murray has done it again. His latest creation—the S1 LM chassis #1 from Gordon Murray Special Vehicles—has officially become the most expensive new car ever sold at a non-charity auction. Hammering for an astonishing $20,630,000 in Las Vegas, the sale reflects not just rarity, but the weight of Murray’s singular legacy in performance engineering.

For context, Murray isn’t just another automotive designer; he’s the mind behind some of Formula 1’s most dominant machines. His McLaren MP4/4 delivered Ayrton Senna’s first championship and remains one of the winningest cars in F1 history. Murray left racing to reinvent the road car, giving the world the McLaren F1—still regarded as the pinnacle of analog supercar purity. Its racing variant, the F1 GTR, famously won Le Mans on its first attempt in 1995. That’s the pedigree behind the S1 LM.

The record-breaking auction car wasn’t even the gold media vehicle displayed on the block; what sold was the right to commission chassis #1 directly with Gordon Murray himself. Only five S1 LMs will exist, each uniquely specified, each shaped by Murray’s ethos: “I’m not chasing numbers.” Yet the numbers still impress—over 690 hp from a bespoke 4.3-liter Cosworth V12 spinning to 12,100 rpm.

In today’s hypercar era—where exclusivity feels increasingly mass-produced—this sale makes perfect sense. For the buyer, it isn’t just about owning a car. It’s about owning the first of the next great Murray lineage, crafted hand-in-hand with the man who redefined speed for an entire generation.

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