Owning one of the world’s rarest supercars is never going to be a cost effective experience.

But something as simple as a windscreen could end up being a lot more expensive than potential owners might ever have anticipated.

The price of a McLaren F1’s windscreen recently became a talking point on social media after an Instagram post that showed two McLaren F1s with cracked windscreens on display at a track event in California.

US website Motor1 did some digging and found out that a McLaren F1 owner in the US would likely pay around $33,000 (R608,000) for a new windscreen, including installation. The latter alone would cost around $8,000 (R147,000), Motor1 reported.

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We don’t know how much a similar replacement would cost in South Africa after import duties and the like, but at this stage it doesn’t appear that there are any McLaren F1s left in our country.

According to our sources the Franschhoek Motor Museum’s example is currently overseas, while the country’s other F1 - which had been owned by a property developer in Joburg - was sold to an overseas client around two years ago.

But in any case the windscreen cost pales in comparison to the going price of buying an actual McLaren F1 these days.

Back in 2021, a low-mileage example was sold at auction in Pebble Beach, California, for a record price of US $20.46 million (R377 million).

Only 64 road-going versions were ever built, according to CarsGuide, and when new - back in 1992 - they sold for around $1 million.

The McLaren F1 has had some famous owners, including Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson, who famously crashed his Dark Burgundy example on two known occasions. No doubt he had bigger problems than just a windscreen replacement.

The mid-engined supercar has a rare three-seat layout where the driver sits in the centre. The car is powered by a BMW sourced 6.1-litre V12 engine and has a top speed of 389km/h.

IOL Motoring