World-acclaimed driver Nigel Mansell has consigned five special cars for RM Sotheby’s auction in Monaco, including two actual Formula 1 cars that were driven to victory by the British star.
“The collection contains what are unquestionably two of the most significant Formula One cars to ever be offered at auction,” RM Sotheby’s said in a news release, “including the 1989 Ferrari 640, in which he won two races that year, plus the incredible 1991 Williams FW14, chassis No. 5, in which Mansell won no less than five Grand Prix, and which is famously the car that has become known the world-over as the British GP winning ‘Senna Taxi’.”
Both of the F1 cars are completely original in as-raced condition, the news release says. The Ferrari 640 V12-powered grand prix car has a pre-auction estimated value of €2.5 million to €5 million ($2.76 million to $5.52 million), and the famed Williams FW14 is valued at €1.5 million to €3 million ($1.66 million to $3.31 million).
“There will rarely – perhaps never – be another opportunity to acquire two completely original Formula One cars directly from their World Champion owner and driver, who has cherished both cars from the day they were retired from the track and which have been preserved in ‘time-capsule’ condition,” the auction company notes. “The totally untouched Ferrari 640 and Williams FW14, the famous chassis No. 5, represent the ultimate acquisition opportunity for Formula One and motorsport fans across the globe.”
The auction, to be held May 14 “alongside the legendary Grand Prix de Monaco Historique,” will include three other unusual Mansell cars:
The 2005 GP Masters Reynard Grand Prix Master car that Mansell drove to victory twice during the 2006 Grand Prix Masters Series, valued at €100,000 to €150,000 ($110,000 to $165,550).
A Birkin 7 Sprint, the minimalistic kit car from South Africa “accurately based on the famous Lotus Seven, valued at €10,000 to €15,000 ($11,000 to $16,560).
A rare 1990 iC Modulo M89, the first production model of the three-wheeled, BMW-motorcycle-engine powered vehicle presented to Mansell at the end of the 1992 F1 season, valued somewhere between €5,000 and €25,000 ($5,520 and $27,590).
For more information about RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale, visit the auction website.
