An optical spectrum of the Elson et al .
( 1998 ) candidate luminous white dwarf in the young LMC cluster NGC1818 shows conclusively that it is not a degenerate star .
A model atmosphere fit gives T _ { eff } \approx 31,500K and log g \approx 4.4 , typical of a garden-variety main sequence B star .
However , if it is a true LMC member then the star is under-luminous by almost three magnitudes .
Its position in the cluster colour-magnitude diagram also rules out the possibility that this is an ordinary B star .
The luminosity is , however , consistent with a \sim 0.5 \thinspace M _ { \odot } post-AGB or post-EHB object , although if it has evolved via single star evolution from a high mass ( 7.6 - 9.0 \thinspace M _ { \odot } ) progenitor then we might expect it to have a much higher mass , \sim 0.9 \thinspace M _ { \odot } .
Alternatively , it has evolved in a close binary .
In this case the object offers no implications for the maximum mass for white dwarf progenitors , or the initial-final mass relation .
Finally , we suggest that it could in fact be an evolved member of the LMC disk , and merely projected by chance onto NGC1818 .
Spectroscopically , though , we can not distinguish between these evolutionary states without higher resolution ( echelle ) data .