A McLaren F1 crashed on the Queenstown-Glenorchy Rd at Closeburn on Saturday December 3.

A McLaren F1 sports car valued at an estimated $20m crashed near Queenstown on Saturday.

The supercar was lifted onto a removal truck by crane as McLaren staff tried to shield media from the crash site.

Police said the multi-million dollar supercar lost control and crashed into a ditch at Closeburn, about 11.45am.

JAMES ALLAN A McLaren F1 crashed on the Queenstown-Glenorchy Rd at Closeburn on Saturday December 3.

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The driver and owner of the supercar, a 65-year-old Australian, was taken to the Queenstown Medical Centre with minor injuries to his thumb.

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JAMES ALLAN A McLaren F1 crashed on the Queenstown-Glenorchy Rd at Closeburn on Saturday December 3.

The sole passenger was uninjured.

The crashed car was a 1994 McLaren F1 capable of travelling at almost 400kmh, and one of only 64 standard road-going versions ever built.

Former owners include the Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson, who crashed his F1 twice, racking up a repair bill in the millions of dollars.

DEBBIE JAMIESON / FAIRFAX NZ Police were investigating the cause of the crash.

Sergeant Blair Duffy of Queenstown police said the car had lost control on the straight stretch of road and come off the road. The cause of the accident was not yet known.

"The vehicle was one of a procession of McLaren cars travelling from Queenstown to Glenorchy," he said.

There were two people travelling in the car at the time, and contrary to earlier reports, there were no injuries and no one was taken to hospital.

"This is a car that was built in the early 90s that has some older electronic stability systems in place and there was a minor accident but we're obviously very confident that we have taken the appropriate safety precautions throughout the event."

"All drivers receive a safety briefing before each day and at the end of each day, on each New Zealand road to make sure that we do not cause any accidents."

SUPPLIED/ BURZIN COLAH The driver of the supercar, a 65-year-old Australian, lost control and crashed into a ditch at Closeburn.

An eyewitness said skid marks were visible for up to 80m before the car left the road and came to a sudden halt in a ditch.

The car was taking part in the nationwide Epic NZ tour organised by McLaren, with 34 cars from as far afield as Canada, Hong Kong, Japan and the United Kingdom driving in convoy around the country.

The F1 was produced between 1992 and 1998, with a total of 106 cars built.

MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ The rare McLaren F1 in Wellington during the tour of New Zealand.

In 1998 an F1 set the record for the world's fastest production car, reaching a speed of more than 386 km/h.

The cars are much sought after by collectors. In a recent sale, a 1998 model sold at auction for US$13.75 million.

British actor Rowan Atkinson hit the headlines for crashing his F1 twice - with the repair bill reportedly being among the most expensive ever.

GEORGE EMPSON / FAIRFAX NZ The F1, left, lined up with several other cars in the Mackenzie District on Thursday morning.

Atkinson purchased an F1 in 1997, and two years later, he crashed it into the back of a Rover Metro.

Then in in 2011, he reportedly lost control of the car on a slippery bend and smashed it into a tree.

A British car insurance company had to pay out NZ$2m to repair the crashed supercar.

DEBBIE JAMIESON / FAIRFAX NZ Skidmarks were visible for some distance near the scene of the crash at Closeburn.

He made a handsome profit when he sold the car for around $17m in 2015.

DEBBIE JAMIESON/FAIRFAX NZ A McLaren F1 car valued at several million dollars crashed into a ditch this morning.