THE memorabilia of Formula One motor-racing champion Nigel Mansell is about to go under the hammer.
There is everything from racing helmets and baseball caps to bespoke number plates and motorbikes in the collection.
Until 2019, it was housed – with cars, photographs and video footage testifying to Mr Mansell’s triumphs behind the wheel – at the motor museum at First Tower but it closed to become a showroom for Mr Mansell’s company’s Hyundai and Mitsubishi franchises.
Earlier this year Mr Mansell and his son Leo announced they were parting company with Hyundai and Mitsubishi, and closing their car operation, leading to the sale of more than 300 items from the 1992 Formula One world champion’s collection.
Commenting on the Legacy Collection, as it has been dubbed, Mr Mansell said: ‘The collection is hugely personal to me.
‘It represents the entirety of my career and is the vast majority of the items of clothing I have worn during my racing career; the helmets, suits and all the trophies I have won during more than 30 years of top-flight motorsport.’
Sotheby’s are to conduct the auction between 4 and 11 October with the 330 lots including 32 racing helmets from his career, 78 baseball caps, 50 race suits and more than 200 trophies.
How much can collectors expect to pay? Some helmets are estimated to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 but bids for the ‘final F1 win helmet’ could reach £50,000. Meanwhile, the 5 NM numberplate is estimated at between £30,000 and £60,000, while a bespoke 2020 BMW R18 II Leone Edition motorbike could make between £20,000 and £40,000.
The full story can be found on page 42 of the Motoring section in today’s JEP.
