British actor Rowan Atkinson is asking about $15 million for his F1 McLaren "supercar" which can reach speeds up to 240 miles per hours – despite it being wrecked twice, once to the tune of $1.4 million in repairs.
Atkinson, whose Mr. Bean character spawned a British television series and two motion pictures, told
The Daily Telegraph that after having the car for 17 years it was just time to let go of it.
"It was never bought as an investment," said Atkinson. "I bought it for the quality of the thinking that went into its design, and now it has become a thing of value, it is time for it to be enjoyed by someone else."
Andrew Frankel of the Telegraph said Atkinson chose well when he decided to purchase the supercar nearly two decades ago because it remains a rarity and could actually fetch his asking price.
"Calling it a thing of value is some understatement, and is the language in which Atkinson chooses to converse," Frankel wrote. "Why so much? Well, not only does the F1 occupy a unique territory among all supercars as the most purely conceived of all, but in total McLaren made just 107, of which many were pure race versions. Standard road cars like this number just 64."
According to The Independent, when Atkinson wrecked the vehicle in 2011 by hitting a tree and lamppost, it took nearly a year for it to be repaired. The cost of the vehicle repairs at the time was one of the highest ever recorded in Britain.
The Scotsman reported that the actor's insurer paid $1.4 million for those repairs, or 42 percent of what the Atkinson originally paid for the vehicle in 1997,
noted National Public Radio.
Auto Evolution.com reported that Atkinson is a longtime car enthusiast who has collected numerous vehicles in the past.
"In case you didn't know, Rowan Atkinson is in fact an avid car collector and race enthusiast," said the site. "He raced several cars including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series. Besides the McLaren, he previously owned a Honda NSX. An Audi R8 and Honda Civic Hybrid add up to the actor's pretty big car collection …"
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