Few road cars are as closely associated with Ayrton Senna as the Honda NSX. The car up for auction is the one that Honda provided to the three-time Formula One world champion for private use in 1991. The red sports car with a black roof accompanied Senna during his time in Europe and is considered one of the most iconic vehicles in the history of motorsport.
Senna began working with Honda in 1987, when the Japanese manufacturer supplied engines to the Lotus team. A year later, the Brazilian moved to McLaren Honda and immediately won his first world championship. At the same time, Honda was developing an all-new supercar to compete with Ferrari and Porsche.
The Brazilian didn't just limit himself to advertising appearances. During the development phase, he extensively tested prototypes of the NSX and criticized the rigidity of the body. Based on his comments, Honda strengthened the structure by about 50 percent and also redesigned the chassis. That's why many engineers still consider Senna to be an important co-author of the production model. A YouTube video in which Senna, wearing slippers, races around the Suzuki racetrack in the NSX is legendary.
The NSX that is now available has the chassis number T000233. Honda imported it to Portugal, where Senna had a house at the time in the Quinta do Lago resort. Whenever the racer traveled to Portugal, he had the car available. The car was registered on March 22, 1991, with the registration number "SX-25-59".
Senna used the NSX regularly. He even drove it to the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, where he started third and finished second. The car can also be seen in the documentary "Ayrton Senna: Racing Is In My Blood", in which Senna drives away with the rear wheels smoking.
A series of photographs of Senna in jeans and a shirt washing a red NSX with a garden hose became particularly famous. These photographs are now among the most famous images of the Brazilian off the track and made the car famous around the world.
After Senna's fatal accident at Imola in 1994, the NSX initially remained in Portugal. Road authority documents and Honda certificates confirm the car's provenance. It later changed hands several times, arriving in the UK in 2013 and returning to Japan in 2024.
In 2019, the car made another visit to Imola, driven by former Minardi team principal Giancarlo Minardi, to mark the 25th anniversary of Senna's death. For the current auction, the car was brought back to the UK by its current owner.
