in 1997 Rowan Atkinson, actor best known as Mr Bean, bout a McLaren, and in 17 years, Atkinson put more than 41,000 miles on the car, something almost unheard of for a vehicle of that caliber.
He trusted it on real roads, in real weather, living with it instead of preserving it.
Then in Oct 99, he had a minor crash on wet roads, and it was repaired.
Then on August 4, 2011, Atkinson lost control of the McLaren. The car spun, struck a tree, and caught fire. Flames lit up the roadside. Emergency crews arrived quickly. Atkinson was pulled to safety with injuries that, while serious, were not life-ending. The car, however, was devastated.
The car was originally a 700k dollar purchase, and the repairs this time were 2.1 million
Specialists worked carefully, piece by piece, restoring a machine many believed was beyond saving.
Despite two major crashes and extensive repairs, the car’s value rose.
By 2015, the market for rare McLaren once bought for 680,000 dollars, had become 12.2 million dollars.
And it wasn't a frivolous purchase by a bored celeb, it was a purchase by an amateur racer, who takes a Jag to Goodwood,
owned and raced this Falcon too, until selling it in 2006
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