It's not every day that an F1 car comes up for
auction – much less one that's actually won a grand prix, let alone a world
championship. But that's just what we have here. Coming up for auction next
month in New York is a Ferrari F2001 – the very same in which Michael
Schumacher secured his fourth world championship, and the Scuderia its
eleventh.
One of the most dominant racing cars ever devised,
the F2001 finished on the podium at every single race it ever contested. It set
many lap records in the process, including one that stood at Zandvoort for
sixteen years until a few months ago.
Schumacher won nine out of seventeen rounds of the
2001 Formula One World Championship in the F2001 (plus another the following
season), finishing the season with nearly twice as many points as his nearest
rival (McLaren's David Coulthard). Two of those checkered flags – in Monaco and
the season finale in Hungary – were claimed in this very chassis, number 211,
making the prospect of its acquisition a very enticing one indeed.
What's more is that it's still fully operational,
its 3.0-liter V10 screaming all the way to an ear-splitting 18,500 rpm and
generating as much as 900 horsepower along the way (complete with traction- and
launch-control systems). It's fully eligible for participation in historic
racing events, and in Ferrari's own Corse Clienti program.
Sotheby's expects it will sell for upwards of US$ 4
million, which by our account would represent a new high-water mark for a
contemporary F1 car sold at auction – and one which is bound to only appreciate
in value. Notice we didn't say RM Sotheby's, because this item has been deemed
a work of modern art, and is set to take place in Sotheby's Contemporary Art
Evening Auction on November 16.
