Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 15 Ω
Direct from Honda Racing Corporation The last Honda V10 Ayrton Senna ever raced A 1990 Honda 3.5 Liter V10 RA100E Formula 1 Engine,
Sold for US$254,500 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 15Ω
Direct from Honda Racing Corporation
The last Honda V10 Ayrton Senna ever raced A 1990 Honda 3.5 Liter V10 RA100E Formula 1 Engine
The last Honda V10 Ayrton Senna ever raced
Direct from Honda Racing Corporation
The last Honda V10 Ayrton Senna ever raced
A 1990 Honda 3.5 Liter V10 RA100E Formula 1 Engine,
The last Honda V10 Ayrton Senna ever raced
A 1990 Honda 3.5 Liter V10 RA100E Formula 1 Engine,
engine no. V805, disassembled and presented in a custom made display cabinet with certificate of authenticity from Honda Racing Corporation.
Footnotes
Bonhams|Cars is delighted to offer here - direct from Honda Japan - absolutely one of the rarest of the rare. This is the very last, and ultimate-specification, works Honda V10-cylinder Formula 1 racing engine ever to have been raced by the late, great, revered three-times Formula 1 World Champion Driver Ayrton Senna.
This individual engine, serial 'RA100E-V805' , was first installed in the legendary Brazilian superstar's works-entered McLaren-Honda MP4/5B cars and used during both the 1990 Japanese and Australian Grand Prix race events.
It powered Senna during warm-up for Honda's home Grand Prix at the fast and difficult 3.64-mile Suzuka circuit, for which Senna had qualified on pole position, completing 29.3kms running.
Right at the start of that famous race Senna and deadly rival Alain Prost of Ferrari collided in the first turn; the Brazilian emerging as World Champion for the second time after having secured his first title, again exclusively Honda powered, in 1988.
Following that controversial Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren, Honda and Senna travelled to the 2.34-mile Adelaide city circuit for the season-concluding Australian Grand Prix. There this individual engine - 'RA100E-V805'- was again installed in Senna's McLaren-Honda MP4/5B car, this time for the race itself, so becoming the final Honda V10 power unit he ever raced.
Yet again he had qualified on pole position, this time with team-mate Gerhard Berger's sister Honda V10-powered McLaren MP4/5B second-fastest. During the race Ayrton Senna led – with this engine screaming its heart out behind his shoulders – for 61 of the scheduled 80 laps, when a gear-selection problem saw him crash mildly. In that farewell race this engine 'V805' completed 302.4kms.
Honda engines utterly dominated Formula 1 for six consecutive years 1986-1991 in first Williams cars then McLaren cars. As the supercharged engine became banned from 1989 season, Honda started supplying McLaren naturally aspirated V10 engines.
In those days, all engines were sent straight back to Japan after being used. Once engines arrived at the R&D center, they were dismantled and went through investigation by Honda engineers to identify issues to improve the specifications of the next engines. As it was time-consuming to re-assemble diagnosed engines, they were normally disposed of after diagnosis. That is why not many past Formula One engines still exist.
This was the last V10 engine used in Formula One and there was no need to dismantle it for study since the development of the new V12 engine for the next year had already begun.
So, it has been sitting in Honda warehouse for a long time until it was discovered last year.
Right here, right now, this unique piece of Honda history - plus that of Ayrton Senna/F1 itself - could be yours.
This lot is oversized. If uncollected by the Collection Deadline, this oversized lot will be uplifted and held to order by Navis Pack & Ship – Bay Area. Uplift, storage charges and shipping are at the buyer's expense. Oversized lot removal and storage charges will be charged by the shipper according to its standard rates and ultimate destination of the lot. For applicable charges, please consult with the shipper in advance of purchase.
Saleroom notices
Please note, one of the cabinet doors was scratched in transport and a replacement will be provided. Additionally, the import duty on this lot is 12.5% of the purchase price.
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| Ω | Import Duty |
| Lot is subject to US Customs duty or tariff and/or related import fees payable by the buyer as part of the purchase price. Please refer to the Specialist Department managing the auction for details. |
