Lewis Hamilton Helped Develop This McLaren. Now, You Can Own His Personal Example

In the upcoming month, two McLaren MP4-12C supercars with a notable history will go up for auction. One of the cars, a Valvano Red coupe, was previously owned by Lewis Hamilton, while the other was owned by Jensen Button. These vehicles were given as gifts for their contributions to the development of road-going cars by McLaren when the company re-entered that market and both drivers were part of the McLaren F1 team.

Hamilton’s car, a left-hand-drive model registered on March 1, 2012, has a mileage of just 4,971 miles and is equipped with a 592-horsepower twin-turbocharged V-8 engine. The car features a Harissa red leather and black Alcantara interior, chosen by Hamilton when he specified the car in England. Various carbon-fiber upgrades were also added, along with Satin Dark Gray wheels, tinted windows, and an estimated value of €175,000-€225,000 ($198,849-$225,663).

Button’s car, his second from McLaren at the time, is an Elite Pearl White model with a Harissa red and black leather interior. It is a right-hand-drive version with carbon fiber interior trim and steering wheel accents. The car, estimated to be worth €125,000- €150,000 ($142,120-$170,542), has been in a private collection since 2012 and has been driven 7,456 miles.

During the development of the MP4-12C, Hamilton requested McLaren to make adjustments to the car’s steering wheel and paddle shifters, resulting in the slim and highly tactile touch points that are still present in McLaren vehicles today.

Both cars will be auctioned by Broad Arrow at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on May 24-25, with the Button’s McLaren being offered without reserve. More details about the auction can be found through the provided links.