Honda NSX personally owned by Ayrton Senna comes up for auction – expected to sell for as much as RM4.4 mil

RM Sotheby’s

Here’s one for Ayrton Senna fans. RM Sotheby’s has announced a Honda NSX personally owned by the legendary Formula 1 driver as one of the available lots at its upcoming The London Auction set to take place at October 31, 2026.

By the end of 1990, Senna was already a two-time Formula 1 world champion with the Honda Marlboro McLaren Formula 1 team and was embarking on a campaign that would yield his third in 1991. As part of an agreement with Honda, Senna would be provided an NSX for his personal use, and this example in Formula Red with a contrasting black roof over a black leather interior was one of the cars he received alongside a pair of black cars.

According to the auction listing, the car bearing the registration number ‘SX-25-59’ and with the chassis number ‘T000233’ was imported by Honda Automobil de Portugal and registered on March 22, 1991.

RM Sotheby’s

This red NSX stands out because it was featured in the 1992 documentary Ayrton Senna: Racing Is in My Blood that saw him lighting up the rear wheels on camera. It was also the car he was famously pictured washing with a hosepipe in jeans and a buttoned-down shirt.

During the European leg of the 1991 season, Senna bought a property in the Quinta do Lago resort in the Algarve region of southern Portugal and commuted to the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril in the same car.

Those obsessed with the NSX will know that Senna played a part in the evolution of Honda’s ‘New Sportscar Experimental’, describing a prototype he tested as being “too fragile,” which prompted engineers to stiffen the chassis by 50% and refine the suspension tuning before the production version launched.

RM Sotheby’s

Ten months after his tragic death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, the red NSX was transferred between various owners, including one in the United Kingdom, before returning to Portugal having been acquired in 2024 by the consigning owner in Nagoya, Japan. Now, it is back in the UK to be offered for sale. Among its travels, the NSX made a poignant visit to Imola in 2019, marking 25 years since Senna’s fatal crash.

RM Sotheby’s notes the car is supplied with a warranty book, Portuguese ownership history documentation and a copy of the Honda fax confirming the car’s Senna provenance. The auction house expects the car to sell for between GBP500,000 and GBP800,000 (about RM2.7 million and RM4.4 million). Given its history, this NSX is likely to be among the most desirable Honda models ever offered at public auction.