Before the words “Bugatti Veyron” existed, the pinnacle four-wheeled tour de force was the McLaren F1. The three-seat rocket put the driver in the center of the 2,300 lb. car, a naturally aspirated BMW V12 provided the entertainment, and the looks dropped jaws (and maybe more) wherever it went. This was an exotic car, quite literally: the engine bay is lined with gold foil, which acts as a heat reflector. With the rev limiter in place, the F1 will smack 231 mph, and with it removed it could hit 243. When Top Gear did a one-mile drag race with a Bugatti Veyron in Dubai in 2009, the McLaren led the Veyron for half of the mile until the Bugatti’s power advantage came into play.

Arguably the most famous McLaren street car is Rowan Atkinson’s F1. The dark burgundy F1 has been on loan to Top Gear several times (it is, indeed, the F1 used in the Dubai drag race) and has been owned by the actor, famous for his role as Mr. Bean, since new. Except now, after seventeen years of ownership, he has chosen to part ways with the super car. He bought the car brand-new in 1997 for £640,000 and proceeded to rack up over 41,000 miles on the odometer. He also managed to rack up two crashes in the car: in 1999 he rear-ended a car in traffic, and in 2011 he lost control and put the car into the trees, which resulted in a £910,000 insurance payout. OUCH. Repairs for each accident were done by McLaren themselves.

It’s a well-known fact that Atkinson loves this car. In an interview with telegraph.co.uk, he says, “Look at a modern supercar of comparable performance and it will be vast, heavy and offer little or no space for your luggage. By comparison the F1 is tiny, yet it will seat three, store enough for you all to go on holiday and still finds space for a proper, normally aspirated 6.1-litre V12 engine. And it weighs the same as a shopping car. Nothing has ever been designed before or since with such imagination and clarity of thought.” As to why he’s decided to sell the McLaren, he has admitted that he doesn’t use the car as much as he used to and that “the time feels right.” Call it a hunch, but we bet that the next owner won’t drive it nearly as much as Atkinson did.

London’s Taylor and Crawley will handle the sale of the McLaren, which is listed for £8 million.