Credits: IMAGO / HochZwei
Lewis Hamilton has been the face of Mercedes since 2013. However, back in 2020 after winning six titles with the team, the Brit snubbed the German brand in a casual conversation, discussing his favorite cars from his collection. In fact, not a single Mercedes car featured in his top three at the time of asking. Instead, he chose an iconic car worth a whopping $15.6 million made by his previous team.
As seen on X, posted by user @sim3744, Hamilton confessed, “The McLaren F1 1995 is my favorite.” After declaring his love for the famed rare collectible McLaren F1 road car, he also revealed the other two in his top 3. “I would [say] my second favorite is a 1959 Ferrari California. Otherwise my Cobra. I have a 1967 Cobra,” he added.
Sitting in Mercedes team gear, the Brit named a McLaren, a Ferrari, and an AC car in his top three, not Mercedes. However, one cannot argue with the classics.
The 1959 Ferrari 250 GT California can only be bought in auctions now. According to Concept Carz, the highest the car has ever been sold for is a whopping $18,150,000 in 2016. It’s unknown how much the seven-time champion paid for his.
Talking about the next on the list, the 1967 Shelby Cobra 427, is also part of Hamilton’s classics collection. He has a 1996 Cobra as well. Although, he uses his 1967 Cobra for daily use which can be purchased for just over a million dollars.
However, the McLaren F1 remains on top of his list as the rare gem is considered one of the greatest road cars ever made.
What is so special about Lewis Hamilton’s 1995 McLaren F1 car?
The McLaren F1 is an engineering wonder. The 1995 record-breaking car has a naturally aspirated 6.1-liter V12 engine developed by BMW. The engine produces 627 horsepower, and the car at the time of launch in 1992 was the fastest with a top speed of over 240 mph.
Apart from the speed, the McLaren F1 has a timeless carbon fiber design that inspired many after it. It is also a rare collectible item with only 106 units ever produced. No wonder it’s the Mercedes man’s favorite road car.
However, now the Brit has added some rare Mercedes collectibles as well in his garage. He recently added the Mercedes-AMG Project One to his collection. Project One is the first F1-inspired Mercedes road car. As per Planet F1, only 275 units have been produced of the hypercar each costing $2.5 million (£2 million) approximately.
Another rare car in his collection is, or was, the Pagani Zonda 760 LH. His initials in the car name are no coincidence. Pagani manufactured five special edition Zonda 760s and Hamilton was one of them.
At the Brit’s request his former car, which he sold in 2021 to Mark Radcliffe, his car was fitted with a manual transmission. However, as per his admission, “It’s the best-sounding car I own, but handling-wise it’s the worst.”
