Motoring enthusiasts were in for something of a treat when Monterey Car Week, the much-lauded annual Californian automobile event, roared into town once more in mid-August. While there were hundreds of stunning motorcars on display, the star draw of the entire week-long affair was undeniably a rare 1994 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’.

Part of just 106 cars to bear the McLaren F1 name, this particular model’s provenance is further burnished by the fact that it is one of only two extant examples to bear the ‘LM’ designation. For the uninitiated, this refers to the suite of upgrades – a new 680bHp GTR racing engine, and an aerodynamic transformation of its nose, front fender vents and rear wing – fitted post-production to the two McLaren F1s upon the motoring marque’s triumphant victory at the 1995 Le Mans race victory.

Given its rarified provenance, impeccably maintained body and an odometer reading of less than 21,500km, it came as no surprise that the final hammer price at the RM Sotheby’s auction where it was sold was a staggering US$19.8 million, simultaneously making it the most expensive McLaren ever sold at auction as well as the priciest car sold this year to date.