YouTuber drops $575,000 on THAT destroyed McLaren P1

Published on Apr 04, 2023 at 9:32 AM (UTC+4)
by Kate Bain

Last updated on Apr 05, 2023 at 3:37 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

Remember the McLaren P1 that was sensationally destroyed in Hurricane Ian? 

Well, a YouTuber called Tavarish bought the waterlogged supercar for $575,000 and now that he’s had the chance to take a closer look, he’s no longer so sure about the project. 

“I just did something really dumb,” he said.

READ MORE! Multimillion-dollar turnaround for owner of destroyed McLaren P1

When the car was first listed for sale by Copart, Tavarish took to his Instagram page with a proposal. 

“If this post gets 40,000 likes, I will spend every cent I have (and borrow) to buy this McLaren P1 and restore it down to the last bolt for YouTube’s biggest car project ever,” he said. 

The post hit its target, getting almost 200,000 likes, including one from the original owner of the P1. 

So, Tavarish committed.

“If you’re anything like me and you saw that video of the McLaren P1 getting ripped out of its garage by hurricane flood waters and getting dragged down the street, you got sick to your stomach,” he said. 

“But even in that destroyed state, that car was still my ultimate dream car.” 

Tavarish stood by his decision, saying the P1 “wasn’t just any McLaren P1, it was special”. 

“It’s as close to a museum piece as you can get,” he said. 

“It only had 300 miles on it… and it was purchased 10 days before the storm hit,” he said. 

So, Tavarish jumped in his truck and went to see the McLaren for the first time. 

When he opened the garage doors, the first thing he said was “it smells really bad, it smells moldy”. 

Walking around the car, he realized just how much work he had ahead of him. 

“There’s glass in the engine bay,” he said. 

“Look at that roof scoop, this thing got mangled. 

“As for the bodywork, this is going to need some love.” 

Inside, he noted everything was, well, also broken. 

The infotainment screen didn’t work, and none of the buttons functioned either. 

“Oh boy, this is going to be a project, a big one,” he said. 

“I’m going to have mechanical issues, cosmetic issues, and electrical issues.” 

Despite all this, he said he was pumped to get started on the restoration. 

“I get excited when I know there’s a lot of problems to be solved,” he said. 

“And maybe they’re really expensive problems, but I’m going to share that all with you.”

You can watch the full video here!

Tavarish said he didn’t know exactly how he would do it, but promised the P1 would be “rebuilt and on the road again”. 

He said he would give his followers a closer look at all the damage and what he planned to do about it in his next episode. 

We wait with bated breath. 

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Kate is Lead Editor, overseeing coverage across automotive, tech, and lifestyle content on the site. She has more than 10 years’ experience as a journalist and news editor, having worked across a range of major publications including News Corp, Daily Mail Australia, and Sky News. Kate holds a Bachelor of Business Management from University of Queensland and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from Queensland University of Technology. She has been with Supercar Blondie since 2020 and played a key role in establishing supercarblondie.com as a leading automotive news destination.