The McLaren MP4/8A that Ayrton Senna drove to victory 25 years earlier in the 1993 Monaco Grand Prix will be offered for sale May 11 at Bonhams’ Monaco auction. In anticipation, the car will be on view February 6-8 in Paris at Bonhams Retromobile-week sale.
“Ayrton Senna was the most charismatic Grand Prix car driver of the modern era, and the MP4/8A was the car with which his team, McLaren, surpassed Ferrari as the most successful team in Formula 1 World Championship history,” Mark Osborne, Bonhams global head of motorsport, was quoted in the company’s news release. “This particular chassis, number 6, cemented Senna’s legend as The Master of Monaco.
“We at Bonhams are both honored and thrilled to be presenting one of the most significant Grand Prix cars of all time. It is his Monaco winner, it is a runner, and now it could be yours.”
Bonhams reports that the Ford-powered McLaren is a “startlingly well-preserved, running-order Formula 1 car,” that Senna drove in eight of the season’s Grand Prix races, finishing second in the car’s debut in Spain.
During the first qualifying session at Monaco, there was a problem with the car’s active suspension and Senna crashed at Ste Devote corner. The car was repaired and Senna posted the third-fastest speed the following day. In the race, he took the lead on the 33rd lap and posted his record sixth victory on the famed street circuit.
Senna left McLaren to race for Williams in 1994 and suffered fatal injuries in a crash in the San Marino Grand Prix.
