Ayrton Senna’s legendary McLaren MP4/6, the car that made him a legend, is hitting the auction block this December
Published on Nov 06, 2025 at 10:03 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Nov 06, 2025 at 3:03 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Ayrton Senna’s legendary McLaren MP4/6 is hitting the auction block this December.
The MP4/6 was introduced by McLaren ahead of the 1991 season.
It’s the car that made the Brazilian driver a legend.
Because it’s widely considered to be the most iconic Formula 1 car ever built.
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McLaren MP6/4 is heading to auction
Okay, so this is one of the most incredible auction pieces you will ever see.
It has been announced that an incredibly special car is heading to RM Sotheby’s this December.
The car in question is a McLaren, but it’s maybe the most special car McLaren has ever made.
This four-wheeled masterpiece is widely considered to be one of the most iconic Formula 1 cars of all time.
And that car, of course, is the McLaren MP4/6.
What makes this auction even more special is that this is the very first MP4/6/-1 McLaren ever made.
It is the exact same chassis tested by Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger at Estoril in February 1991.
Remarkably, this iconic piece of racing history was actually sold off back in 2020.
The person who picked it up is now ready to sell it on, so it’s heading to auction in December.
Hosted by RM Sotheby’s in a sealed auction, the event will take place between 8th and 11th December.
It’s expected to fetch somewhere between $10-$13million – not bad, right?
Even better is the fact that the auctioneers expect this car to be driven.
Prior to its 2020 sale, this MP4/6 was ‘fully recommissioned to race-ready condition by McLaren Heritage’.
So, this auction represents the chance to own the final-ever manual gearbox, V12 F1 car to win a world championship – worth it, if you ask us.
Ayrton Senna’s home race win secured
At this point, we’ve outlined just why this car is so iconic and so important.
But there is one particular race that made it the icon it became.
Ayrton Senna’s 1991 championship car was important for so many reasons.
As mentioned, it would prove to be the last V12-powered, manual gearbox car to win an F1 title.
But the Brazilian Grand Prix is the race in question.
Victory at Ayrton Senna’s home round had eluded him throughout the entirety of his F1 career.
In fact, a home victory had escaped Ayrton Senna on seven separate occasions.
Interlagos would play host to one of the greatest individual drives ever seen.
Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/6 started on pole – no real surprise there.
But what was a major surprise was that Senna’s gearbox failed him.
Towards the end of the race, Senna lost his third, fourth, and fifth gears.
His solution? Keep the car in sixth gear for the remainder of the race.
So that’s exactly what he did.
It remains a minor miracle that Senna’s McLaren didn’t stall in the slow corners.
The Brazilian icon managed to hold off Riccardo Patrese for the final few laps.
In the process, Ayrton Senna finally secured a home win in Brazil.
To this day, that race remains the stuff of legend.
And Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/6 remains one of the most legendary F1 cars to grace a track.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
