Ayrton Senna's personal Honda NSX heads to auction with £800k estimate

One of Ayrton Senna's personal Honda NSX models heads to RM Sotheby's London auction in October 2026, with the red-over-black example estimated to fetch up to £800,000. It serves as a direct link to the three-time champion's hands-on role in refining Honda's first supercar during his McLaren-Honda dominance.

Why it matters:

Senna's impact on the NSX went beyond ambassadorship; after he judged an early prototype "a little fragile," Honda stiffened the chassis and retuned the suspension. Chassis T000233 was one of three NSXs he received in 1991, making this a rare chance to own a road car with genuine engineering DNA from an F1 great.

The details:

• Registered in Portugal in March 1991 for Senna's use during European rounds, the car was photographed at Estoril and featured in the 1992 documentary Ayrton Senna: Racing Is In My Blood.
• After Senna's death in 1994, it passed through Lisbon-based Laboa Etablissement before moving to an Algarve dealer in 2009, UK owner Robert McFagan in 2013, and a Japanese collector in 2024.
• Provenance: The sale includes Honda paperwork confirming the Senna link, the warranty book, and full Portuguese ownership records.
• Tribute drives: Giancarlo Minardi drove it at Imola in 2019 for the 25th anniversary, and it appeared at Silverstone Festival in 2024 alongside 11 F1 cars for a Senna tribute.

What's next:

The auction at The Peninsula London opens bidding at £500,000. With Honda documentation, period film appearances, and a central role in modern tributes, this NSX stands as one of the most significant road cars ever tied to an F1 legend. The final price will signal how strongly collectors value tangible connections to motorsport's most revered era.