Aussie bloke bins $10m McLaren F1, charged by NZ police

If you thought you were having a bad weekend, just be glad you didn’t drive a rare $10million hypercar into a ditch and get charged with careless driving.

That’s exactly what happened to a 65-year-old Australian man who was taking part in a tour of New Zealand with 30 other McLaren drivers to pay homage to the company’s founder, Bruce McLaren.

The McLaren F1, a supercar icon and for a long period of time the fastest car in the world, left the road and ended up in a ditch near Queenstown on Saturday.

Fairfax Media reports the Aussie driver, who is said to own several McDonalds franchises in Victoria, was treated for a broken or sprained thumb, while the sole passenger was uninjured.

He was due to front court today on charges of careless driving.

The F1, which is estimated to cost more than $10million, is the only McLaren F1 registered in Australia, and was shipped to New Zealand for the event.

Fairfax media reports that news crews faced opposition when trying to capture footage of the crashed McLaren, stating stewards allegedly attempted to bribe freelance photographer James Allan from snapping pictures of the car.

The F1 was placed underneath a protective cover as it lay stricken in the ditch.

This isn’t the first time the Aussie F1 has been crashed either, infamously being binned by a mechanic from a BMW Dealership.

The owner of the car shouldn’t stress too much, actor and noted car enthusiast Rowen Atkinson infamously crashed his McLaren F1 twice, with McLaren piecing the car back together after a A$16million insurance claim.

The high value of a McLaren F1 would outweigh any worries surrounding repair costs.

With the iconic model being so rare, it is not unheard of for McLaren’s Special Operations heritage team to piece repair F1’s back to their former glory after being crashed.