As Motorsport.com reports, one of the most poignant machines in motorsport history is heading to a New York auction block. RM Sotheby's is offering chassis FW16B-01 in its 'The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction', carrying an estimated price tag of $4 million to $6 million, which translates to £2.95 million to £4.45 million. This marks the very first time the car has ever been put up for public sale.
When the Brazilian legend left McLaren to join Williams for the 1994 Formula 1 season, the Grove team made an agreement that he would receive a chassis if they secured the constructors' championship that year. Tragically, Senna lost his life at the San Marino Grand Prix driving chassis FW16-02. Williams ultimately claimed the constructors' crown over Benetton, while Damon Hill missed out on the drivers' title to Michael Schumacher by just a single point. Fulfilling its promise, the team handed FW16B-01 over to Senna's family at the end of that heartbreaking year.
While Senna never actually raced this specific chassis in a grand prix, it is one of only two surviving FW16s that he drove. It served as the spare car at the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix, where Senna took it out for the race-day warm-up at Interlagos and went faster than Schumacher, who ultimately won the main event. Days later, both Senna and Hill shared the machine during a three-session test at Jerez, racking up 842 km of running.
The Senna family kept ownership of FW16B-01 from 1994 all the way to 2024, with the car remaining in the care of Williams throughout that period. The current owner acquired it privately through RM Sotheby's, and remarkably, the machine has never undergone restoration.
The auction listing notes that chassis FW16B-01 stayed completely untouched for the following 30 years, with the sole notable exception being the installation of Senna's personal seat. It remains presented in a totally preserved and unrestored condition, having been kept preserved and unused since the 2024 purchase from the Senna family.
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