British actor Rowan Atkinson, most famous for playing hapless comedy character Mr Bean, has sold his McLaren F1 for £8 million – a car which cost him around £500,000 in 1997, according to espn.co.uk
Atkinson is a well-known petrolhead and has made headlines with his McLaren F1 on two occasions, most recently in 2011 when involved in a huge shunt which he was lucky to walk away from unscathed. That crash cost the actor around £900,000 in repairs.
Atkinson, also known for roles in Blackadder and Not the Nine O’Clock News, showed off his driving skills on the BBC’s popular driving show Top Gear, where he finished second on their ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car’ segment. He has also attended F1 races in the past, most memorably the 2011 Indian Grand Prix when FOM cameras caught a Mr Bean-esque response to a crash between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa as he watched on from the McLaren garage.
The 6.1 litre, V12-engined McLaren F1 is one of the rarest supercars in the world, a 650-horsepower beast with a top speed of 240mph. McLaren Automotive made just 107 of the Gordon Murray-designed vehicle, only 64 of which were standard road cars.
