Forever, Senna

There are few machines in motorsport that transcend metal, carbon and engineering to become something almost spiritual. This 1991 McLaren MP4/6 is one of them, the car that carried Ayrton Senna to his first home victory at Interlagos and, ultimately, his third and final World Championship.

Designed under Gordon Murray’s technical direction and penned by Neil Oatley, the MP4/6 was an exquisite expression of early-’90s Formula 1. Its 3.5-litre Honda V12 produced around 720 horsepower, revving to a searing 13,800rpm, all channelled through a six-speed manual gearbox. This is in fact the last manual, V12-powered car to win an F1 World Championship. Wrapped in carbon fibre and Marlboro red and white, it embodied the end of an era: raw, analogue and brutally elegant.

But it was Brazil, March 1991, that immortalised chassis MP4/6-1. In torrential rain and with a wounded gearbox stuck in sixth gear, Senna somehow held off Riccardo Patrese to win his first Brazilian Grand Prix. By the chequered flag, his lead was down to just under three seconds — and he was so physically spent he could barely lift the trophy. It remains one of the most human, heroic drives ever witnessed.

After its single race outing, McLaren retired the car to Woking, where it stayed for nearly three decades. Recommissioned by McLaren Heritage and later run by Lanzante, the MP4/6-1 remains fully operational, a living relic of Formula 1’s golden age.

More than just a race car, it’s a symbol of everything Senna stood for: faith, ferocity, and perfection in motion. Thirty-four years later, the sight of that red-and-white blur slicing through rain still stirs the soul. Forever, Senna.

Thie 1991 McLaren MP4/6 is set for auction via RM Sotheby’s Sealed held between the 8th-11th December 2025. It’s expected to fetch between £9m-£12m. Photos © RM Sotheby’s / Tim Scott Fluid Images