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McLaren F1 Crashed in NZ, Driver Sustained Minor Injuries

Remember Mr. Bean? He used to own a McLaren F1, which he crashed twice, yet managed to sell it for a mind-whopping £8 million. More recently, however, it looks as if another F1 joined the crash club. This time around, the action takes us to New Zealand.
McLaren F1 Crash in NZ 10 photos
Photo: JAMES ALLAN for Stuff.co.nz
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The island nation hosted the inaugural McLaren Epic tour this week as a nod to Bruce McLaren. The Kiwi racing legend is the mastermind behind McLaren’s racing venture and, to some extent, an inspiration for the automaker’s automotive division. The thing is, a gathering of overpowered cars on New Zealand's B roads is the perfect recipe for someone to drive into a ditch.

This exact scenario rolled out near Queenstown, where a McLaren Epic tour participant crashed his highly original F1. As reported by Stuff.co.nz, the 65-year-old Australian owner lost control of the car for reasons that have yet to be determined by investigators. Having sustained “minor injuries to his thumb,” the owner was taken to the hospital for treatment. In the meantime, tour organizers put a sheet over the car, lifted it from the ditch, and that was that. The extent of the damage sustained by the vehicle remains unknown.

Geoff Tink of McLaren Automotive Asia Pacific didn’t help much either with his explanation of the crash: "The car was involved in a minor accident where it left the road and ended up in a ditch." But if you look closely at the photographs published by the cited publication, you’ll notice a long trail of skid marks. Upon closer inspection, it looks to me as if the owner and driver lost control of the rear axle, then couldn’t correct the ensuing tank slapper.

Produced in the 1990s in very limited numbers (64 road-going cars), the F1 continues to be regarded as being the Magnum Opus of McLaren Automotive. Nowadays, a good one sells for a lot more than a P1 in tip-top condition.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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