Formula One champion's memorabilia to go under the hammer

Sunday 17 September 2023

The memorabilia of Formula One motor-racing champion Nigel Mansell is about to go up for auction – with racing helmets, baseball caps, bespoke number plates and motorbikes all up for grabs.

Until 2019, the collection 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.

Mr Mansell described the Legacy Collection, as it has been dubbed, as "hugely personal".

He explained: "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.

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.