McLaren allegedly tried to cover up Queenstown crash

Duct tape was put across all the tyres to cover up the McLaren logo (Newshub.)
Duct tape was put across all the tyres to cover up the McLaren logo (Newshub.)

A photographer says he was offered substantial cash for his photos by McLaren officials after one of their F1 cars crashed near Queenstown on Saturday.

James Allan says the officials went to great lengths to cover up the crash of the supercar, worth up to $20 million.

A lone McLaren took a Sunday drive - this time without incident - through the scene of the now infamous crash.

It was the same place the grey McLaren F1 sports car came off the road, where the earlier fanfare and publicity around the exotic multimillion-dollar supercars tour of New Zealand suddenly dried up.

Mr Allan was first on the scene. He'd heard word this was no run-of-the-mill car crash.

"Because it was a McLaren - then we heard it was possibly the F1 version. Sounds like a bit of a good story to me."

Mr Allan took some pictures then says he was approached by someone kitted out in McLaren clothes asking how much it would cost to give them his pictures.

"Said to me, 'Yeah, we'd just rather not have this getting out. It doesn't look good for us, so how much to make it go away?'"

Mr Allan agreed to an amount for photos that he said was 25 times what he'd be paid for an afternoon's work, but when other media turned up it rendered the offer pointless.

Not only did the company cover up the car, but it put duct tape across all the tyres to cover up the McLaren logo.

"Even the McLaren badge on the dust cover was taped over. They were pretty hell bent on keeping that car a secret."

A McLaren spokesperson told Newshub it's standard protocol for the company to cover the car after an accident to protect the owner's privacy and to prevent further damage.

Automotive expert Dave Moore said he wasn't surprised with how the company reacted.

"Pride, loss of faith for the company, that kind of thing - it's understandable. If it's a one-off that may not be the company's fault."

But Mr Allan says he wasn't impressed with how the crash was handled.

"A bit rich really when they had photo days and media calls throughout the country, but yeah, when things don't go their way."

Police say they are still investigating and as yet haven't laid any charges.

Newshub.