Lotus F1 Ayrton Senna: A Legendary Car for Sale - Bincang Bincang Mobil

The era of the black and gold livery of John Player Special is etched in the minds of fans as a defining feature of the F1 team founded by Colin Chapman. The team produced a number of legendary drivers, including Emerson Fittipaldi, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Nigel Mansell, and Ayrton Senna.

Ayrton Senna's time at Lotus may not have been as dominant as some of his predecessors, but he did have some strong periods with the team over three seasons, with 1986 being a standout year.

A Lotus 98T car that played a key role in Senna's success that year is now up for sale at RM Sotheby's. Not only is it a visually striking car, but it also represents one of Senna's most successful moments before he went on to win a World Championship.

The car, chassis number 98T-3, participated in the first eight races of the 1986 season, including the Spanish and Detroit Grands Prix, where Senna secured a win from pole position.

One of the most memorable moments of the car's career came in Jerez, Spain, where Senna won by a margin of just 0.014 seconds, setting the record for the closest finish in F1 history since the 1971 Italian Grand Prix.

In addition to its win in Spain, the car also secured three other podiums, including a second place in Brazil and a third in Monaco.

Powering the car was a potent EF15B 1.5L V6 turbocharged engine, developed by Renault, which was capable of generating over 1,000 horsepower in qualifying sessions.

However, after securing a string of strong results in the opening eight races, Senna encountered issues with the following chassis, including the dominant Williams-Honda collaboration and recurring reliability problems with the Renault engine.

Given its rich history, the Lotus 98T-3 is estimated to sell for between $9.5 million and $12 million (approximately Rp159.5 billion to RP201.5 billion) at auction.