65theMiddleEastarefrequent
destinations.)If thedisaster
is intheU.S.,Lamborghini
canalsotransportthecar
toa dedicatedrepaircen-
terin Seattle,which the
company has developed
withresearch labsat the
UniversityofWashington.
Whilethere,thedoctors
dothingslikestripthecar
downtoitsbarebonesso
theycangraftnewlayers
of carbon fiber to the
monocoque tub under-
neath,buildingit upagain
fromtheinsideout.Tocom-
pleteeven a smallpatch
takeshoursandthepreci-
sionofa fineartrestorer.
Theprocessmeanssand-
ingdownthetornportion,
layeringonskeinsofcar-
bonfiber,andbakingonthe
newcomponentstomake
them blend impercepti-
blywiththeexistingbody.
It cantakeweeks,andthe
pricecanreachsixfigures.
McLaren employs a
moreproactiveapproach
withthehautestofitshautecouturecars.ForitsF1,made
from 1992 to1998,thecompanysuggestssendingthecarby
airorshiptoitsWoking,England,headquartersforroutine
annualmaintenance.Anoilchangetherecosts$8,000;repair-
ingthedamagedonebya singlenailpunctureina tireruns
$6,000,sincetoachievetheperfectrollingsplendoroftheF1
meansreplacingbothtiresonanaxle.(Comparethiswiththe
tireplug,patch,andrepairratesforthehoipolloiata local
garagelikeLesSchwab,whicharefree.)
ClosertohomeforsomeofthetoniestF1owners(Ralph
Lauren,forone),McLarenopeneda certifiedservicecenterin
Philadelphiain2017,theonlyoneoutsidethefactory.Owners
cansendtheirF1thereforeverythingfromminormainte-
nancetoa largerebuild,butmostchoosetheWokingoption.
Alltold,annualrunningcostofanF1is estimatedat$30,000
peryear,McLarensays—beforeanymajorcollision.Thatlevel
ofTLCdoesn’tapplytothe$1million Senna, or anything
“below” that car, like the $285,000 720S, both of which get
sent via truck to the nearest dealer in the event of a crash. “The
F1 is just a different animal,” the McLaren spokeswoman says,
“because of the limited quantity and the price point.” Just 106
of them have ever been made, and insuring one can cost more
than $20,000 per year, according to Hagerty Classic Insurance.
There’s not really such a thing as wrecking an F1 beyondsalvaging anyway, since
the value of this extraor-
dinary car is rising so con-
sistently. Witness Rowan
Atkinson (aka Mr. Bean):
He crashed his twice—then
sold it for $12.2 million in
2015, or a rumored $8.5 mil-
lion profit on what he paid
for it in 1997. Even if it’s
just matchsticks, it proba-
blymeritsrebuilding.
“Upto$250,000,I prob-
ably wouldn’t even report
the claim,” says one super-
car owner, who prefers to
remain discreet. It’s just not
worth the insurance bump
compared with the value
of the car. Also, a wreck on
a car’s public record can
diminish its resale value.
Then again, for the
hypercar elite, it’s more
about time lost driving
than expense. No one has
any fun when the car is in
the shop. And if the dam-
age isn’t too bad, it’s tempt-
ing to opt for a rather more
mundanerepair,suchas
fixingthecarinyourownshop,asJayLenodidyearsago
whenhebackedoneofhishalf-million-dollar Lamborghini
Miuras into the other. (It’s not a common problem.)
The DIY method is usually what California collector Dan
Kang does with his Swedish-built Koenigseggs. He has the
knock-on-wood fortune of having sustained only minor cos-
metic damage after occasional mishaps on the track, he says.
And between the mechanics he keeps on his own payroll and
the close working relationship he has with company founder
Christian von Koenigsegg and his 220-person operation, he
often just orders parts from the factory and has his guys install
them stateside. Should anything more severe happen, Kang
says, Koenigsegg would take back the entire car and rebuild it
as necessary. “If it goes back to the factory, then we know it’s
going to come back in even better condition than before the
accident,” he says, noting that any upgrades developed since
that particular car hit the street would be integrated into the
repairs. “Christian would never let a car just be buffed out.”
Somecollectorsevenmakethesamecallastherestof
us.“IwillusuallyjustcallAAA,”saysDavidLee,anL.A.
businessman known to his 1.2 million Instagram follow-
ers for his large collection of modern and vintage Ferraris.
“Their Plus service will do more than the car companies’
PROP STYLIST: ANDREA GRECO basic roadside service,” he reasons. “It’s easier.”
CARS Bloomberg Pursuits October 7, 2019Not a real Lamborghini
Huracán Performante