Few people reach such a status that others would pay tons of money for clothing they wore in hours-long, sweaty athletic events, and, when phrased like that, it sounds weird regardless of whose clothing it is. But Formula One legend Ayrton Senna reached that status, and one of his race suits is up for auction soon.
Senna, who won three F1 championships and recently had a new McLaren model named after him, is widely thought to be one of the best F1 drivers of all time. He died in a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix in May of 1994, when he was 34 years old and at the top of his driving career.
The suit up for auction is one Senna wore during the 1987 season, which was his last with Lotus. He won two races and finished third in the standings that year, behind Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. The suit will be on an RM Sotheby’s lot at the company’s Monaco auction in May, just over 24 years after Senna’s death.
The auction listing says Senna wore the suit when he won in Monaco that year, and when he finished on the podium in seven other races. Senna gave the race suit to the brother of his physiotherapist, according to the listing, who kept it as a “lucky charm” for a few years before selling it. It was later sold to a Monaco gallery, which is where it is now. It’s signed by Senna on one of the patches.
According to the listing, the suit has no reserve price to meet before the seller will let it go. But that doesn’t mean it’ll go cheaply—a suit of Senna’s went for more than $76,000 in 2014, according to Hemmings, and Motor Authority
reported that a helmet of his sold for more than $114,000 at auction in 2012.
Hopefully the mannequin posing in the RM Sotheby’s photos is included in the deal, because its pose is strangely reminiscent of something we’d see showing off that Forever 21 Honda line. That turn of the knee really adds some attitude.