McLaren F1 driver finds himself in hot seat

The McLaren F1 is one hot supercar--literally, in the case of one of the 106 built.

A McLaren was being driven in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Monday afternoon when the engine compartment caught fire.

The car's owner, identified by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat as Irv Kessler, was driving. He didn't talk to the newspaper about the incident.

The local fire department put out the blaze. The car hadn't been driven in about six months, a fire department official told the newspaper.

When new, the F1 carried a sticker price of about $970,000. Kessler told fire officials that his car was valued at $2 million and that he carried a $3 million insurance policy on it, according to the newspaper report.

The rear-engined McLaren is powered by a BMW V12, good for propelling the car from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. Production of the F1, designed by Gordon Murray, ran from 1992 through 1998.

McLaren still maintains a dedicated repair center for the F1, so it's possible that this copy may be restored.

By Dale Jewett