“Greatest of all time” carries weight. Serious words for serious conversations where you just can’t help but bow in the presence of a true phenomenon. Rarified air, anyone or anything under consideration for the title operates on another level, with a gravitational pull that’s undeniable. Exactly one build slot for the greatest hypercar of all time is up for grabs, and you can bet your bottom dollar that billionaires will be acting like animals to secure it.
Ask any car enthusiast what the greatest car of the ’90s is, and they’ll probably tell you it’s the McLaren F1. An ultra-obsessive supercar with three-abreast seating from the mind of Formula 1 engineer Gordon Murray, it completely rewrote the rulebook of what a supercar could be. We’re talking about a series production car top speed record that stood for more than a decade, and required the might of 16 cylinders and four turbochargers to topple. We’re also talking overall victory at Le Mans, a carbon chassis, the weight of a Subaru BRZ, and 618 horsepower. Only 106 were made, and each is now worth eight figures.
Nearly thirty years later, Gordon Murray and his namesake company, Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA), did it again. The GMA T.50 combined all the learnings of the F1 and all of the technological advancements of the past 30 years to create something arguably even more special. We’re talking a dry weight 143 kilograms lighter than the F1, a more effective fan system, a four-liter Cosworth V12 revving to 11,500 RPM, and a proper manual transmission. It’s a tiny, delicate-looking thing, but it howls a wail that’s permanently etched into my memory.
Photo credit: RM Sotheby’s
However, even the T.50 came with lessons and constraints. Sure, it costs more than $3.1 million, but what if Sir Gordon Murray took everything learned from the T.50, stripped away the cost cap, and draped it all in coachwork reminiscent of the iconic McLaren F1? Thankfully, we don’t have to imagine. The GMSV S1 LM is real, and on paper, it’s the greatest hypercar of all time.
Photo credit: RM Sotheby’s
The V12 engine has been punched out to 4.3 liters and now revs to 12,000 rpm, the suspension geometry is new, the shifter’s supposedly even more precise than on a T.50, and even the carbon fiber structure has been heavily revised. At the same time, the homage-paying styling adds something the T.50 doesn’t always have at first glance: The want factor. It’s no surprise that the S1 LM broke the internet when it was unveiled at Monterey Car Week, but with all five commissioned by the same person, we expected this hypercar to be conceptually similar to a one-off.
Photo credit: RM Sotheby’s
As it turns out, it’s not quite that limited. The allocation for chassis number one is going up for auction at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and whoever places the winning bid will be able to spec their S1 LM out to their liking. Might I suggest “Ueno Clinic” in giant lettering down each side? While that will require some licensing fees, the winning bidder could probably afford it. RM Sotheby’s expects the S1 LM to fetch at least $20 million, which is simultaneously an absurd figure and surprisingly good value.
Photo credit: RM Sotheby’s
After all, the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail cost around $30 million per example, and it was basically just a drop-top Phantom, not a boundary-pushing hypercar. Plus, $20 million is about what McLaren F1 chassis number 029 sold for back in 2021, so when you factor in inflation, the S1 LM isn’t exactly milking it. With just one example up for general sale right now, I suspect $20 million is the floor. Will billionaires be able to behave themselves at the amfAR Benefit Gala on Nov. 21? Hopefully, but don’t count on it. What would you do to own the greatest of all time?
Top graphic image: RM Sotheby’s
