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Lewis Hamilton Literally Wanted to ‘Sell His Kidney’ to Ron Dennis to Get His Dream McLaren Car

Samriddhi Jaiswal
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Lewis Hamilton Literally Wanted to ‘Sell His Kidney’ to Ron Dennis to Get His Dream McLaren Car

It is well known that Lewis Hamilton has been into racing cars ever since he was a toddler, and he has now revealed his dream car, for which he was even ready to sell his kidneys to ex-McLaren boss Ron Dennis. Hamilton has revealed that when he was ten years old in 1995, he received a book about racing, and the cover of it had a yellow car that caught his eye.

The car was right there. I nearly passed out. I was just like a kid giggling and running around this thing. Every day, I would go to the office and see the car. 

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Access Hollywood’s Scott Evans during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Hamilton was asked if he owns his dream car. Without hesitation, the 7x world champion replied, “Yes,” and told the story behind his dream car, a McLaren XP1. The Mercedes star revealed that in 1995, it was one of the fastest cars in the world, and he wanted it. Three years later, he got into McLaren when Dennis signed him into his young drivers’ program, and that was the first time the young Briton saw his dream car physically in Woking.

At the time, I said to my boss[Dennis], ‘What have I got to do to get that car? I will literally sell my kidney.’

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Dennis told him to win three world championships to get the car. Sadly, Hamilton did not win three championships with the team. He won only one, and that was ten years after he probably made this deal with Dennis. Nevertheless, that did not stop the Briton from buying the car. He did not reveal when he bought the car himself, but he did point out that the deal with Dennis was off.

Lewis Hamilton put a mark on the car to not be fooled by Ron Dennis

Furthermore, legend says that Hamilton did not just make a deal with Dennis. In order to ensure that he got the right car, the young Briton is said to have put a mark on the car that sits on the floor of the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.

He put the said mark on the car to ensure that he got the right car and was not fooled into a lower model of the ride. Even though this is a famous story, nobody has found the mark yet, and that could be because the young Briton hid it very well.

The said McLaren LM XP1 is one of the ultimate roadgoing F1 cars. Only five units of this car were manufactured, which produced 680 horsepower with an engine that had no restrictions.

Speaking about his dream car, Hamilton revealed that he has kept the vintage car safe in his garage at home. He doesn’t drive it, but it’s like a piece of art!

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal

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Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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