Tonight at 5:00 PM CEST, the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco hosts RM Sotheby’s biennial sale — the eighth time the auction house has staged this event in the Principality, and arguably the most significant. Fifty-eight lots. A cumulative low estimate of €87 million. And two cars that alone justify the plane ticket: a 1984 Toleman TG183B-05 that put Ayrton Senna on the Formula 1 map, and a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider estimated at up to $19 million.
Senna’s First F1 Car — Chassis TG183B-05
The Toleman carries an estimate of €2.8–3.8 million, though few expect it to stop there. Chassis TG183B-05 is the exact car Senna drove at the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio — his Formula 1 debut — before campaigning it in South Africa and Belgium, with the car entered but withdrawn at San Marino due to a tyre dispute between Toleman and Pirelli that left Senna unable to take to the track. At Kyalami, he damaged his front wing on the opening lap. Didn’t matter. He climbed to sixth as the lead Pirelli runner, scoring his first World Championship point.
Designed by Rory Byrne and John Gentry and powered by a Hart 415T 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, the car retains its original wooden gear knob — and, remarkably, has Senna’s name misspelled in the footwell. “Aryton.” It was sold to a U.S. owner in 1992, returned to the UK in 2017, and has recently had its turbo and transmission rebuilt. It is eligible to race in the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, which takes place across the same weekend as the auction.
Martin Brundle drove it at Brands Hatch for a 2022 Sky Sports documentary — believed to be the car’s first circuit appearance since 1984. Pierre Gasly later took the wheel for the channel’s coverage marking the 40th anniversary of Senna’s debut.
“What an iconic car for Ayrton Senna. I can see why Ayrton made it go so quickly.” — Martin Brundle
“Chassis TG183B-05 was exclusively raced in period by the future three-time Formula 1 World Champion, contesting four rounds of the 1984 season.” — RM Sotheby’s
The $19M California Spider — Chassis 2955 GT
The headline dollar figure belongs to a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider by Scaglietti, estimated at €14.5–16.5 million ($16.8–19.1M). Chassis 2955 GT is the 26th of 56 short-wheelbase examples built — one of only 39 originally configured with covered headlamps. It left the factory in September 1961 finished in Bianco Saratoga over Connolly Nero leather, was displayed at the 40th IAA Frankfurt Motor Show on the Auto Becker stand, and then sold to Lebanese enthusiast André Budi-Medawar, who kept it in Rome.
The car passed through Luigi Chinetti Motors to a series of American owners before landing with California actor Ken Mars — best known for What’s Up Doc? and Young Frankenstein — who repainted it Rosso. In January 2000, Mars sold the Ferrari to brokers Rick Cole and Marty Yacoobian, who in turn sold it to auctioneer Craig Jackson. It was then purchased from Jackson in March 2000 by a Frankfurt-based collector and co-founder of a prominent wheel manufacturer. Ferrari Classiche issued the Red Book in 2018, confirming matching-numbers engine, gearbox, rear axle, and coachwork.
The current owner commissioned a full restoration by Dino Cognolato’s shop in Vigonza, Italy, refinishing the car in Blu Scuro over red with a silver hardtop. It has covered just 2,447 kilometres since. The car appeared at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and is accompanied by a full Marcel Massini history report.
Supporting Cast — Four More Ferraris and an Aston
The remaining lots make this feel less like an auction and more like a private collection dispersal. A single-owner 2018 Ferrari FXX-K Evo — dark red, under 4,500 km — is estimated at €5.2–5.7M. A silver 2004 Ferrari Enzo carries €4.9–5.3M; worth noting that four Enzos crossed the $5M mark in January 2026 alone. Then there’s a 2014 LaFerrari finished in a paint-to-sample Signal Green — reportedly the only one in existence in that shade — with “Jamiroquai” etched into the steering wheel base after original owner Jay Kay debuted it at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed. It’s estimated at €4.0–4.5M despite 12,042 kilometres on the clock. A 1955 Aston Martin DB3S rounds out the major lots at €3.0–4.0M.
What to Watch
Results will post to rmsothebys.com following tonight’s hammer. The Toleman’s final price will be the number the Senna community watches most closely — Senna-driven F1 cars rarely surface at public auction, and none carries the narrative weight of his debut chassis. The California Spider will set the tone for the broader 250 GT market for the next 12 months. Check back at classiccarcraze.com for a full results breakdown.
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