Twenty years ago, the McLaren F1 was far and away the fastest supercar the world has ever seen. Capable of speeds up to 240 mph, the McLaren F1 commanded a price tag of approximately £640,000, or $1 million, a premium that could only be afforded by the most eccentric of individuals. Cue Mr. Bean.
In 1997, Rowan Atkinson bought his very own burgandy McLaren F1 with the money he earned when he filmed his first Mr. Bean film. While most of his fans know him as the taciturn child in a grown man's body, Atkinson is not only a wildly successful entertainer, but also a proper car enthusiast and an amateur racing driver as well.
On August 2011, the actor took his McLaren out for a drive, when his supercar lost control and struck a tree at high speed. Atkinson fractured his shoulder blade from the crash.
Undeterred by the crash, Rowan Atkinson was determined to get the McLaren back on the road. Technicians and insurance spent an extensive amount of time analyzing the damage and the monetary figure of the fix. The verdict? a shocking $1.4 million repair cost paid by the insurance company and more than a year of restoration under the skilled hands of McLaren's elite technicians.
Finally getting back behind the wheel 16 months after the crash, Atkinson said it was "like putting on a familiar sweater".
Be sure to check out Rowan Atkinson's McLaren F1 drag race a Bugatti in a feature on Top Gear. Also, see Rowan Atkinson speak with Jeremy Clarkson when he was invited as the "star in a reasonably priced car."
