A McLaren F1 has fetched a world record price for a supercar.

Tom Hartley Junior, a 29-year-old British car dealer, sold his rare F1 for a whopping £3.5 million (NZ$6.8m)

The Sun newspaper reported that sale price makes the F1 more expensive than any modern day car and three-and-half times dearer than a brand-new Bugatti Veyron.

Hartley, who has sold cars since he was 11, said he believed the F1 was the best car ever built.

''It was light-years ahead of its rivals and the model that I have sold is undoubtedly one of the best of the road-going F1s ever built,'' he told The Sun.

The McLaren company, founded by New Zealand's Bruce McLaren back in the 1960s, produced only 64 road-going F1 models between 1993 and 1998.

Powered by a 6.1-litre V12, the F1 has a top speed of 391 km/h which made it the world's fastest car. It held that title for nearly 10 years and still remains the fastest non-turbocharged motor according to The Sun.

The F1 was the forerunner to other more recent McLaren supercars such as the MP4 and 12C, photos of which can be viewed to the left.

Celebrity owners of F1's included Jay Leno and Rowan Atkinson.

- © Fairfax NZ News