On 14 May, on the sidelines of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, Nigel Mansell he will sell some cars of incredible value that he has kept until today. Among these will be auctioned, managed by RM Sotheby’s, two single-seaters driven by him in Formula 1: the Ferrari 640 from 1989 and the Williams FW14 from 1991. These are cars with which he was able to win Grand Prix; consequently they are two big pieces in the history of Formula 1. According to the images published by the auction house, that Williams should be the chassis that Mansell used to triumphant 1991 British Grand Prix, when he gave Ayrton Senna a lift. Unfortunately this Williams does not house its original Renault engine.
In addition to these single-seaters, the 1992 British world champion will auction other rare cars, such as a 1991 Birkin 7 Sprint and a 1990 iC Modulo M89 with a three-cylinder BMW motorcycle engine. Finally, there is also the 2005 Reynard 2KI used for the Grand Prix Masters championship, a real gem. Without a doubt, Ferrari is the queen of the auction, considering that it is the car that Mansell used to win the Brazilian and Hungarian Grand Prix. Its last outing was at the 1989 Australian Grand Prix. The car hasn’t been driven since, and it should be worth between 2.5 and 5 million euros.
Mansell’s relationship with Ferrari began in a daring way, with victory at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix. The car was considered fast, but the new semi-automatic gearbox was a weak point of the 640 F1. The British driver, on that specific occasion, was so convinced that he would not finish the Grand Prix that he had booked a flight in advance immediately after the end of the race. In the end, however, he stayed to celebrate.
The cars auctioned were part of the Mansell Museum, which was then closed to make room for the family dealership. Now the cars will go into other collections, getting (hopefully) the same care that the British driver provided during the period on display.
(images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s)
#Nigel #Mansell #Sells #Ferrari #FormulaPassionit