2006 wasn’t necessarily Michael Schumacher’s most successful year in Formula One, but it did bring a few milestones for the sport’s most successful driver in history at the time.
And now one very lucky, and decidedly rich, human being will be able to get their hands on the exact car, chassis no. 254, which Schumi drove that year.
The 2006 Ferrari 248 F1 car is set to go under the hammer on November 14 at an auction event to be hosted by RM Sotheby’s.
Currently located in New York, the F1 machine has had just one owner, who bought it directly from the Scuderia factory team in 2007.
The auctioneer has not provided an estimated price, but it is widely believed that the race car could sell for in excess of $15 million, or R265 million.
So what makes this particular car special, besides the obvious fact that it’s an F1 car that was raced by Schumacher?
It was the last Ferrari race car that the seven-time F1 champion drove, before leaving the team at the end of 2006 and rejoining the sport with Mercedes in 2010. But because he never won a race after his comeback with the German team, the no. 254 Ferrari was the last car that he ever won a F1 race in.
Schumacher did at least win five races in his final Ferrari, while notching up three second-place finishes and four fastest laps.
This was also the car in which he surpassed Ayrton Senna’s pole position record.
Following F1’s return to eight-cylinder power in 2006, the Ferrari 248 is powered by a 2.4-litre V8 engine that produced 585kW at the end of its season on the track.
RM Sotheby’s says the race car on auction was Ferrari Classiche Red Book certified in 2008, and is confirmed to have retained all of its ‘matching numbers’ components.
“Since its sale by Maranello this hugely significant Ferrari has remained in single ownership within one of the world's greatest collections, possessed by one of the most sophisticated enthusiasts, who has prized it for its power and, yes, its significance within the market as, simply, the ne plus ultra of modern competition prowess,” the auctioneer said.
“In power, in design, in provenance, it is a breathtaking full-course meal of desirability, now set before the world's most astute connoisseurs.”
IOL