For even the most determined of collectors, finding an owner willing to part with his McLaren F1 is quite a task. Being auctioned at Bonhams at the Quail Lodge in August this year will be an an absolute icon of modern-era sports car racing: the ex-GTC Gulf Team Davidoff 1997 McLaren F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ FIA GT Endurance Racing Coupe. The McLaren F1 GTR  is a supercar that emerged as a dominant force in endurance racing in the late 1990s. Of the 28 examples that were built only 10 were aerodynamically-optimized Longtail versions and this one happens to be the last of them.  Built in 1997, chassis 028R contested the FIA GT Championship at the Nurburgring, the A1-Ring, Donington, Spa, Mugello, Sebring, Laguna Seca and Suzuka.

This Gordon Murray-designed beauty appears on most aficionados’ top-ten list of the greatest sports cars ever built and the last time this car was auctioned it fetched a neat $4 million. Decked out in Gulf and Davidoff race livery, this most exclusive and charismatic of racing coupes will go to the top bidder at The Quail. “We are delighted to have been appointed by an international collector to represent this breathtaking piece of competition machinery,” says Mark Osborne, Head of Motoring at Bonhams. “Racing legends like the McLaren F1 GTR  rarely if ever appear at auction and Bonhams’ appointment speaks volumes about our leadership in this sector of the market.”The 2012 Bonhams Auction of Exceptional Motorcars will take place Thursday and Friday, August 16th and 17th at Quail Lodge in Carmel, California.

via autoblog