Lot Ended
Description
Senna tribute car that has been on static display in a private
collection for the last dozen years; recently recommissioned; advisory-free MOT;
a very smart example of this desirable Cosworth-powered sporting saloon
This year marks
the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna, widely considered to be the
greatest racing driver who ever lived. But just 40 years ago he was still
virtually unknown outside the small world of Formula 3. What really put him
on the map was a race organised by Mercedes in 1984 to celebrate the opening of
the new Nurburgring GP circuit and to promote their new Cosworth-powered 190E
Saloon.
Twenty of the best drivers in
the world were invited to compete in what was billed as The Race of Champions,
including nine of the fourteen Formula 1 world champions still alive and two
future ones – Niki Lauda, James Hunt, John Watson, Phil Hill, Alan Jones,
Stirling Moss to name just a few.
All were given
identical Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Saloons in which to slug it out on track to
determine who was the best driver in the world. When Emerson Fittipaldi pulled
out at the last minute, another Brazilian was drafted in to fill his shoes, a
virtually unknown Ayrton Senna.
Qualifying third
behind Alain Prost and Carlos Reutemann, Senna had danced his way to the front
by the end of the first lap, taking a lead he would not relinquish until he took
the chequered flag 12 laps later, 1.4 seconds ahead of Niki Lauda, 3.7 seconds
ahead of third place Carlos Reutemann and almost 40 seconds ahead of pole-sitter
Alain Prost.
It was a stunning achievement and
Senna’s winning car, No. 11, was put on display at the Mercedes museum in
Stuttgart where it has remained ever since. Senna’s career went into orbit, as
did the 190E Cosworth which wiped the floor in the German DTM race series and
impressed Senna so much that he bought one for himself. Given a larger 2.5-litre
engine in 1988, this proved no faster and the free-revving 185bhp 2.3 is the one
most rated by purists today.
First registered in
January 1986, this 190E 2.3-16 was acquired by our vendor in 2012 to join his
Mercedes collection. A garage proprietor and former F3 team sponsor, he had
known Senna personally and was a huge fan, decking out this Smoke Silver example
in identical livery to that of the winning No. 11 car.
A serial Cosworth owner who knows the cars inside-out, our vendor
promptly treated it to a top-end overhaul, new brake discs and pads all round, a
new set of tyres and full waxoil treatment, some (but not all) of this work
being documented in parts invoices on file.
More
polished than driven over the next dozen years, we are told that the Cosworth
drives as well as it looks with none of the top-end rattles when hot that often
afflict this engine. The body, paint and interior are all in similarly
impressive condition and the Senna stickers can all be easily removed if the new
owner prefers a more standard look.
Flying
through its MOT in December last year with no advisories recorded, it has only
covered a handful of miles since, the odometer currently showing 148,839 miles.
A dozen old MOTs show that it has only covered some 40k miles in the last 30
years.
Starting promptly and running sweetly as we have moved it around
on site, it comes with its original handbooks and a duplicate service book (no
stamps) plus a few invoices during our vendor’s 12-year ownership. The icing on
the cake is the B 5ENA number plate which is included in the sale.
For an
entertaining account of The Race of Champions, copy and paste this link into
your browser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=664k0onPaVY
You can
view the full race here - Lauda puts in a heroic performance charging from 14th
to 2nd but Senna is clearly in a league of his own:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR1b-J4q-80
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com