Normally one doesn't intend to take his $1.2 million McLaren F1 off the beaten path, but road trips often present obstacles that require extreme fortitude to overcome. Such a road block, or rather a construction zone, blocked the path of Miles Collier while he and his wife were traveling from their Montana ranch to Glacier National Park in their slightly used but brand-new-to-them McLaren F1.
Collier had searched for a good U.S.-legal McLaren and found a fine example in the chassis No. 022 previously owned by Thomas Bscher, current head of Bugatti, who was known to have used the car for 200+ mph commutes to work. Knowing the previous owner's exploits, Collier had the car shipped to McLaren's headquarters in Woking, England for a $300,000 refreshening that included a factory fresh $70,000 paint job. So with the car back to brand new status, Collier and his wife Parker, whom he refers to as a built-in rev limiter, headed out on their journey from Montana.
Somewhere in the vastness of Montana's sprawled out geography the pair came across the mother of all construction zones that laid at their feet eight long miles of dirt and gravel. The only detour would add 150 miles to the trip, but with the possibility of bottoming out in a muddy rut left by an F-150, the two had just about accepted the increased travel time to spare their McLaren this off-road excursion. Turns out, however, that Montana's highway construction workers are extremely friendly folk, and they offered to do whatever it took to get the McLaren to the other side unscathed. A road crusher and road roller were enlisted to create a smooth path for the McLaren to follow, though Collier found it difficult to keep the car in line since the McLaren's idle speed kept trying to ram the roller. After eight miles traveling over Montana's newest road at 5 mph, the Colliers were safe on the other side save for about five paint nicks that the owner guesstimates will cost around $1,000 each to repair. That's probably chump change for someone who can afford to own and maintain a McLaren, but he might find the operating costs drop a bit if he keeps all four wheels on glassy pavement.
[Source: Sports Car Market]
Collier had searched for a good U.S.-legal McLaren and found a fine example in the chassis No. 022 previously owned by Thomas Bscher, current head of Bugatti, who was known to have used the car for 200+ mph commutes to work. Knowing the previous owner's exploits, Collier had the car shipped to McLaren's headquarters in Woking, England for a $300,000 refreshening that included a factory fresh $70,000 paint job. So with the car back to brand new status, Collier and his wife Parker, whom he refers to as a built-in rev limiter, headed out on their journey from Montana.
Somewhere in the vastness of Montana's sprawled out geography the pair came across the mother of all construction zones that laid at their feet eight long miles of dirt and gravel. The only detour would add 150 miles to the trip, but with the possibility of bottoming out in a muddy rut left by an F-150, the two had just about accepted the increased travel time to spare their McLaren this off-road excursion. Turns out, however, that Montana's highway construction workers are extremely friendly folk, and they offered to do whatever it took to get the McLaren to the other side unscathed. A road crusher and road roller were enlisted to create a smooth path for the McLaren to follow, though Collier found it difficult to keep the car in line since the McLaren's idle speed kept trying to ram the roller. After eight miles traveling over Montana's newest road at 5 mph, the Colliers were safe on the other side save for about five paint nicks that the owner guesstimates will cost around $1,000 each to repair. That's probably chump change for someone who can afford to own and maintain a McLaren, but he might find the operating costs drop a bit if he keeps all four wheels on glassy pavement.
[Source: Sports Car Market]
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