Tag Archives: formula one

Osella FA1E

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1983 Osella-Alfa Romeo FA1E

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, U.K. | July 23, 2015

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Osella is an Italian racing team whose roots go back to founder Vincenzo Osella racing Abarth cars in Italian hillclimbs in the 1960s. He began building cars under his own name in 1974 and the first Osella car (which was actually an F2 racer) was entered in Formula One in 1980. A full factory effort would also be undertaken that season.

In 1983, Osella featured factory Alfa Romeo race engines. This one’s a 3.0-liter V-12 and this car was raced by Piercarlo Ghinzani. It’s only race finish was 11th at the 1983 Dutch Grand Prix. It has been owned by Ghinzani since and has been completely restored and is more or less ready to go. It should sell for between $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $126,360.

Ferrari 641/2

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1990 Ferrari 641/2

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 16, 2015

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

The 1990 Formula One season was packed with legendary drivers: Senna, Prost, Piquet, and Nigel Mansell, who drove this very Ferrari. The 641 was a development of the 640, which was used the season prior.

It’s  powered by a 3.5-liter V-12 making an estimated 685 horsepower at an ear-splitting 13,000 RPM. The racing history for this chassis includes:

  • 1990 German Grand Prix – 19th, DNF (all races with Mansell)
  • 1990 Portuguese Grand Prix – 1st
  • 1990 Spanish Grand Prix – 2nd
  • 1990 Japanese Grand Prix (site of the infamous Senna/Prost debacle) – 14th, DNF
  • 1990 Australian Grand Prix – 2nd

So this is a race winning Formula One car that had three podiums in five races and was raced by one of the sports legendary champions. It was used in the second-half of the season, presumably hence the “/2” (indicating updates on the car). This is one of seven or eight 641 chassis built and a handful are in private hands. It would be a most fun track day car, if you have the means. It should sell for between $800,000-$1,100,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Gooding’s lineup.

Update: Sold $990,000.

Brabham BT33

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1970 Brabham-Cosworth BT33

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 15-17, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

You’re looking at the final car driven by Jack Brabham in Formula One. In fact, he won his final grand prix in this car – the 1970 South African Grand Prix. What’s even better, this is a Brabham chassis and he remains the only person to ever win in a car bearing his own name. The car looks fabulous. The engine is too: it’s a Cosworth V-8 of 3.0-liters and puts out 430 horsepower at an ear-shattering 10,000 rpm. It can be yours for between $1,000,000-$1,400,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,034,000.

Renault RE30B

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1982 Renault RE30B

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 10, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The RE30B was an updated version of – you guessed it – the RE30. The RE30 won three races with Alain Prost in 1981 and the RE30B combined for four wins between Prost and Rene Arnoux in 1982. This was Arnoux’s car for eight races in 1982 – including three pole runs – Monaco, Imola, and Zandvoort. It was a great qualifier but never raced all that well. Its best finish was 10th at the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix. The engine in this car was a 560 horsepower twin-turbocharged 1.5-liter V-6. It is a relative bargain between $175,000-$220,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM’s Monaco sale.

Update: Sold $315,953.

1980 Tyrrell

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1980 Tyrrell 010

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 10, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Ken Tyrrell’s Tyrrell Racing was active in Formula One from 1968 through 1998. That’s a pretty solid run, lined with streaks of fame, including the much-loved, six-wheeled P34. This car isn’t quite as exciting.

Candy Team Tyrrell ran cars for Jean-Pierre Jarier and Derek Daly for the complete 1980 season. The 010 debuted at the 1980 South African Grand Prix. This car, chassis 003 was first used by Daly at the 1980 Monaco Grand Prix. The engine is a 475 horsepower 3.0-liter Ford-Cosworth V-8.

This car competed in 17 races over two seasons and was driven by Daly, Jarier, Eddie Cheever, and Michele Alboreto. Its top finish was 5th (four times). It should sell for between $295,000-$390,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $246,597.

Schumacher’s First Title Car

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1994 Benetton B194 Ford

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 1, 2013

1994 Benetton B194 Cosworth

The Benetton Formula One team began competing in the top tier of world motorsport in 1986. The team was founded by the Benetton family, owners of the Benetton fashion brand, when they purchased the Toleman team at the end of 1985. In 1991, they hired a young driver named Michael Schumacher who took the team to the pinnacle. Michael won his first two drivers championships with Benetton before departing for Ferrari.

Schumacher won his first title driving a B194 – winning eight races (half of them with this chassis), despite being disqualified from two races and banned from two more. It was a very controversial season to say the least. This car uses a Cosworth-built, Ford-badged 3.5-liter V-8. The race history of this car includes (but is not limited to):

  • 1994 San Marino Grand Prix – 1st (with Michael Schumacher)
  • 1994 Grand Prix of Monaco – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 1994 Canadian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 1994 French Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)

This car won four races with Michael en route to the season driver’s title. Benetton became Renault F1 for 2002 and Renault sold off many of the Benetton team cars that had been left behind. This one found its current home in 2008. A restoration was completed in 2010 and features the original 1994 Mild Seven livery. This is one important race car and it comes with a host of spares. No estimate is available, which is auction house code for “a lot.” You can read more here and check our more from Bonhams in London here.

S/N: B194-05

Update: Sold $1,009,281.

Ex-Mansell John Player Special

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1984 Lotus Type 95T

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 17, 2013

1984 Lotus Type 95T

There are a few racing liveries that really stand out above others. Among them: Gulf, Martini and – of course – John Player Special. The tobacco company started sponsoring Lotus Formula One cars in 1968. This black and gold paint scheme would be a part of F1 through the 1986 season and the current Lotus F1 team uses the colors – albeit with different sponsors.

The Lotus 94T was raced at the end of the 1983 Formula One season without much success (a lone podium and many retirements). It was competitive, but not great. For 1984, Lotus introduced the 95T. It was powered by a Renault-Gordini 1.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6. In race trim it made about 700 horsepower. For qualifying, that number was bumped up over 1,100! Four cars were built for that season to share between Lotus drivers Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis.

This car was driven by Mansell and includes the following race results (I can’t find if Mansell drove this particular car at more races than this or not):

  • 1984 Monaco Grand Prix – 13th (with Nigel Mansell)
  • 1984 Dallas Grand Prix – 6th, from first career pole (with Mansell)

It has since been retrofitted to accept computer input, making it easy to start and drive today (for historic events and parade laps). This is a Turbo Era F1 car that was raced by an F1 Champion. It’s also from one of the racing’s most storied manufacturers and carries one of racing’s most emblematic paint schemes. It can be yours for a price they won’t estimate. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in California.

Update: Failed to sell (high bid of $450,000)

The Only W196 Mercedes in Private Hands

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1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 12, 2013

1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R

There’s been a lot of talk about this car and its forthcoming auction held at Bonhams’ sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. There’s talk of it breaking all kinds of auction records. It seems every time a car comes with that kind of talk, it mysteriously disappears and is never auctioned because it cannot be authenticated. Well this one can.

The W196 was Mercedes-Benz’s entry for the 1954 and 1955 Formula One seasons. Their drivers included Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss – two of the biggest names in the history of motorsport. Mercedes withdrew from competition of all kinds in 1955, and they went out on top with this car.

This is the only W196 that is not owned by Mercedes themselves or housed in a mega-museum. It is the only surviving W196 to have won multiple Grands Prix. Fangio clinched his second Drivers’ title driving this car. And it remains in nearly that state today – unrestored, original and complete. Mercedes has inspected the car and said that, with the exception of a few pieces, this is exactly how the car was prepared for its final race in 1955. That’s amazing.

Chassis #00006/54 can be lightly prepped and run in the condition it is in today. No need to restore it (please don’t!). The mechanicals are described as being pretty complex for 1954 and the engine is a naturally-aspirated 2.5-liter straight-eight making about 290 horsepower. It was a beast and its competition history is as follows:

  • 1954 German Grand Prix (Nürburgring) – 1st, from Pole (with Juan Manual Fangio)
  • 1954 Swiss Grand Prix (Bremgarten) – 1st, with Fastest Lap (with Fangio – who clinched his second title by winning this race)
  • 1954 Italian Grand Prix (Monza) – 4th (with Hans Hermann)
  • 1954 Spanish Grand Prix (Pedralbes) – 12th, DNF (with Hermann)
  • 1955 Italian Grand Prix (Monza) – 11th, DNF (with Karl Kling)

After its final race, the car came into the control of Daimler-Benz’s “Exhibition Department,” which showed the car at events around the world. It was then used for testing in the 1970s before Benz swapped it for another car at a museum in England. When the museum wanted to add on to the their building, they sold the car. The new owner sold it a while later to a man who paid a world record (and undisclosed) price for it. In the 1990s, it was acquired by Friedhelm Loh, a German businessman, who ran the car in a few historic races such as the Monaco Historic Grand Prix and the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Then he sold it. Now it can be yours, if you happen to be wealthy in the most villainous of ways.

Obviously, no estimate was provided for this car because anything that has sold for a “world record price” is unlikely to have an estimate attached to it. It should bring an incredible amount – should it actually meet its reserve. I have to say, this is a very exciting car, as cars of this magnitude so rarely come up for sale. And to think, what could end up being the world’s most expensive car could have plaid seats! Only 14 W196s were built and only nine survived until Daimler decided to restore a written-off chassis. Now there are ten of them – and this is the only one you can buy. Daimler owns seven of them and two are in other museums.

Click here for more information and photos and here for more from Bonhams at Goodwood.

Update: Sold $29,614,692.

1953 Connaught Formula One Car

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1953 Connaught Type A

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Stoneleigh Park, U.K. | February 23, 2013

1953 Connaught Type A

Old race cars can be quite interesting. Especially when they competed at the highest level of motorsport and in the “heyday,” as it were – Formula One in the 1950s. Connaught Engineering was founded by Rodney Clarke and Mike Oliver in Send, England, in 1950.

They made their debut at the 1952 British Grand Prix with a four car effort. In total, the team competed in 18 races over eight seasons, contesting every British Grand Prix and other assorted races. 1953 was their hallmark season, the one where they entered the most races (4).

The Type A was run for four seasons (1950-1954). The cars used a 2.0-liter Lea Francis straight-four making 145 horsepower. With the right gearing, it could do 160 mph. I’ve really tried to do some research to find out who drove this car and in what races, but I’m just not finding what I want. Silverstone lists it as having been driven by Roy Salvadori, John Coombs, Kenneth McAlpine, Ron Flockhart and Bill Whitehouse, with Whitehouse having the most success as a privateer. It has been active in historic racing for some time.

Packaged with a bunch of spares, this historic race car is expected to sell for between $315,000-$395,000. It is one of nine built. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Silverstone’s lineup.

Update: Sold $296,400.