At the upcoming RM Sotheby's Monaco Sale, a selection of cars from Nigel Mansell's personal collection will be offered. The two most interesting are the Formula 1 cars he raced during the 1989 and 1991 seasons. The earliest of the two is this Ferrari 640 F1. Built in 1989, the 640 F1 was the very first Formula 1 car raced with the now omnipresent steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. The John Barnard design proved very fast but rarely reliable. It all started very well for the V12-engined machine as Mansell won the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix with the very chassis that is on offer in Monaco. Sadly, he would only score one more win that year as did his team-mate Gerhard Berger. In 1990, the car was gifted to Mansell by Ferrari and has retained it ever since. One of seven built, the 640 F1 is estimated to sell for €2,500,000 - 5,000,000.
In 1991, Mansell re-joined the Williams team, which had also seen its technical team reinforced by the great Adrian Newey. A sign of things to come was the FW14 that was used during the 1991 season. Powered by the Renault V10 engine, it scored seven Grand Prix victories. Five of these were with Mansell at the wheel of FW14-05. As part of his contract, this highly successful Grand Prix car was given to Mansell at the end of the season. The following year, he would dominate F1 with the subtly updated FW14B. Like the Ferrari, Mansell retained the FW14 ever since. The car will require a complete rebuild to make it functional again, which is reflected in its €1,500,000 - 3,000,000 estimate.

Enjoy the links:

1989 Ferrari 640 F1 (109)

1991 Williams FW14 Renault (FW14-05)