Senna's Honda NSX sells for record £871,250

A Honda NSX used by three-time Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna has set an auction record for the model. The car was estimated at between £500,000 and £800,000 but sold for £871,250 at RM Sotheby's in London on 31 October.

Honda provided Senna with three NSXs for personal use during his time with the McLaren-Honda team. The car sold was chassis T000233, finished in Formula Red with a black roof and black leather interior. It was registered in Portugal in 1991 and was kept in Lisbon, where Senna would drive it on his visits to the country. After his death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the car was sold to Robert McKagan and moved to the UK.

The NSX has a three-litre six-cylinder engine producing 271bhp and a top speed of 165mph. RM Sotheby's UK director of sales Sholto Gilbertson said Senna's legacy runs far deeper than his three world championships, describing the car as a genuine piece of sporting and cultural history.