Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week Feels Like a Race Weekend With Rare Paganis, McLarens and More

This December, Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island will unite the worlds of art, design and performance under a single spotlight. The first-ever Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week, hosted by RM Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, lands during Formula 1 weekend at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort. The high-end auction event is poised to be a reflection of how collecting has evolved in the Middle East, where art, engineering, history and innovation all converge.

The automotive lineup alone captures pure excitement with the 2017 Pagani Zonda 760 Riviera, leading the showcase. It’s a one-off creation by Horacio Pagani himself. Dressed in Pearl White and accented with electric blue, it’s a study in obsessive craftsmanship boasting 7.3 liters of AMG-tuned V-12 power paired with hand-sculpted carbon fiber and just over 900 kilometers on the odometer. RM Sotheby’s Managing Director MENA Duccio Lopresto summed it up plainly: “The Pagani Zonda 760 Riviera and Aston Martin One-77 are the ultimate expressions of performance, craftsmanship and distinction. They embody the very spirit of Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week—a celebration of power, elegance and exclusivity.”

The 2010 Aston Martin One-77 sits alongside it, offering a quieter kind of power. Only seventy-seven exist, with this one ordered by a Middle Eastern collector, balances the technical with the tactile: a 7.3-liter V-12 inside a carbon-fiber chassis and a hand-formed aluminum shell. Its Pearl White finish and red-trimmed black leather interior give it the restrained elegance that defines the best of British automotive design. “Both the Pagani Zonda 760 Riviera and the Aston Martin One-77 are masterpieces that redefine what collectors expect from hypercars,” RM Sotheby’s specialist Stephan Knobloch explained.

Elsewhere in the lineup, two names that helped define modern performance return to share the same stage for the first time: the 1994 McLaren F1 and the 2025 Gordon Murray Automotive T.50. The F1 remains the benchmark for road-car engineering with its 6.1-liter BMW V-12, center-seat layout and minimalist philosophy that reshaped what “supercar” could mean. The T.50, its spiritual descendant, distills that ethos into the modern age, swapping digital excess for mechanical purity with a Cosworth-built V-12 that revs with impossible speed. Seeing both cars side by side makes clear how Gordon Murray’s design language has evolved without losing its intent: to build machines that feel alive.

And then there’s the statement no one saw coming. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has confirmed that three future McLaren competition cars will be sold at this year’s auction, including a 2026 Formula 1 chassis, a 2027 World Endurance Championship LMDh prototype and a 2026 Arrow McLaren IndyCar raced by Pato O’Ward. Buyers will secure ownership before the cars even hit the track, gaining unprecedented access to McLaren’s racing ecosystem.

Beyond the headline lots, Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week will feature other automotive legends like the 1990 Ferrari F40, Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach, Bugatti Veyron Nocturne and more, each representing a milestone in performance engineering and design innovation. The event itself is the ultimate platform that brings together the worlds of technology, craftsmanship and culture under one roof. Join collectors and enthusiasts at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort from December 2 to 5 to see these icons in person and experience the next evolution of global collecting.

Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week
Tuesday, December 2 to Friday, December 5
The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Al Saadiyat Island – SDN1, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

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