McLaren F1 Chassis #039 it was one of only 106 examples ever made. And after more than four years of development, McLaren CEO Ron Dennis wanted one. The car he ordered, chassis #039, is widely regarded as one of the least attractive F1s produced. Supposedly the Brazilian Brown on Red F1 was so unattractive Ron Dennis’ wife didn’t want him driving. Supposedly he quickly “swapped” for a more traditional Silver Magnesium car, chassis #050.
And although the chassis #039 it’s not the only hard-to-find F1, it’s the one that caught the eye of VinWiki founder Ed Bolian.
The story goes that after Ron Dennis returned #039, was briefly owned by a customer in the UK. A few years later, the same F1, now fitted with gold wheels, appeared for sale in Mexico. Nobody really knows who this mysterious owner was, but it is said that he was one of El Chapo’s buddies (yes, that El Chapo).
Chassis #039
However, after the man died in the late 1990s, his family was left with a McLaren F1, but without the keys, and no one was able to operate it. A few phone calls to McLaren reportedly revealed that getting a new set would cost almost the car’s current value. The story goes that at one point the car was hidden somewhere in the countryside of Sinaloa, Mexico.
But fast forward a few decades, and who besides Ed Bolian gets a call from a fan in Mexico about #039.
As Bolian notes in his video, trying to buy an abandoned McLaren F1 from what is essentially a drug cartel is easier said than done. Leaving aside the inherent “health risks” that can accompany the deal with the Sinaloa Cartel, this deal had all the hallmarks of a scam – noting that the middleman even asked Bolian to buy his old Jaguar to release money for revival. .
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