One of the most memorable Formula 1 cars driven by Ayrton Senna is to be auctioned with a staggering value by Sotheby’s.
The car in question is from the third season of the three-time World Champion’s glittering career, and is from the second, and most successful, campaign with Team Lotus.
The 98T-3, complete with the iconic John Player Special livery, took Senna to fourth place in the 1986 World Championship.
And the car being auctioned happens to be the very chassis that Senna scored both his wins in that year.
As well as taking a win in Detroit, Senna also won the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, in which he held off the charging Nigel Mansell to take victory by just 0.014s – the third-closest finish in F1 history.
The car boasts a 1.5-litre Renault V6 turbo, and was reputed to have a capability of 1,200bhp in qualifying trim, 900bhp in races with 12,500rpm.
After being sold by Lotus two years later, the car has had a small number of owners since then, and its current owners have had the car – based in Alton, UK – restored by Paul Lanzante Ltd, and is now “primed and ready for a return to the track”.
Sotheby’s have valued the car at $9,500,000 to $12,000,000, or approximately £7,000,000 to £9,000,000.
View the lot on RM Sotheby’s website here!
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