RM Sotheby’s announced the upcoming sale of Ayrton Senna’s 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix–winning McLaren MP4/6, chassis number MP4/6/1. This exact car delivered one of Senna’s most iconic victories, his emotional first home win in São Paulo, and stands as a cornerstone of McLaren and Formula 1 history, auction officials stated in a press release. The car will be offered exclusively through RM Sotheby’s Sealed platform, with bidding opening on Dec. 8 and closing on Dec. 11, 2025. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $12,000,000 to $15,000,000 USD.
“Few figures in motorsport have captured the world’s imagination like Ayrton Senna,” said Nick Wiles, RM Sotheby’s car specialist. “Anything connected to him—a helmet, a suit, even something he once touched—has become sacred to collectors. Senna transcended the role of driver long before his tragic passing; he became an icon.
“But even within that realm, there are levels, and this car sits at the very top. The McLaren MP4/6 that carried him to victory at his home Grand Prix in Brazil, in what Senna himself called the ‘hardest-fought race of his life,’ represents the pinnacle of Formula 1 collecting. It’s difficult to imagine anything more significant or more desirable to a collector.”
The Historical Importance of the McLaren MP4/6
Constructed as the prototype for McLaren’s 1991 campaign, MP4/6/1 marked Senna’s first experience with the new Honda V-12-powered machine that would carry him to his third and final World Championship. Of just 11 MP4/6 chassis built, this example is uniquely distinguished as first built and arguably the most singularly memorable, maintaining a perfect 100-percent win record from its sole Grand Prix start, noted the release.
Driven to victory in Brazil despite being stuck in sixth gear for the final laps, Senna’s mastery over this car became the stuff of motorsport mythology. “It wasn’t the greatest win of my life,” Senna said afterward, “but it was the hardest fought one.”
Throughout the season, both before and after its historic race, MP4/6/1 served as a factory development and test car for Senna, Gerhard Berger and official McLaren test drivers. Following its retirement from testing in October 1991, it remained in McLaren’s possession for nearly 30 years before being recommissioned by McLaren Heritage upon the acquisition by its sole private owner in 2020.
The MP4/6 represents the end of an era, the last manually shifted car to win a Formula 1 World Championship, and the final triumph of the legendary McLaren Honda partnership, officials stated. Its impact endures as a symbol of Senna’s brilliance, McLaren’s engineering dominance, and the raw, mechanical purity of early 1990s Formula 1.