Ayrton Senna and the Immortality: Honda’s 1990 championship-winning engine heads to auction

You can own the fragments of Senna's immortality.

Photo: Honda

This August, during Monterey Car Week 2025, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) will auction off race-used components of Senna’s championship-winning engine — the very heart of the machine that helped define his legacy. This marks a turning point in the way Formula 1 history is remembered and relived, not behind museum glass, but in the hands of those who dare to dream as Senna did.

A Gentleman’s Legacy in Horsepower

For over seventy years, Honda has carved its name across the motorsport world. From their first foray into Formula 1 in the 1960s to their triumphant return in the 1980s, Honda engines have powered some of the most iconic moments in racing history. But few partnerships have ever matched the harmony of Honda and McLaren during their late ’80s and early ’90s dominance — a partnership that gifted the world Senna’s brilliance and that unforgettable 1990 season.

Motorsport fans will enjoy several Honda auctions this year.

Photo: Honda

At the centre of it all was the RA100E V10 engine, a 3.5-litre naturally aspirated marvel that delivered 710 horsepower of unfiltered racing soul. Now, for the first time, pieces of that very engine — camshafts, pistons, connecting rods, and cam covers — are being released from HRC’s vault and offered to the public.

From Workshop to Wunderkammer

Each part of the RA100E engine will be carefully disassembled at Honda’s revered Sakura City facility in Japan by the very engineers who once built it. These artifacts will be presented in bespoke display cases, accompanied by certificates of authenticity — a touch of reverence that mirrors the gentlemanly spirit of those who appreciate not just the machine, but the legacy it represents.

Honda F1 Technical Director Toyoharu Tanabe had worked with top-level drivers such as Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, and Alain Prost, but he was most impressed with Ayrton Senna. Tanabe said "Of all the drivers, Ayrton Senna impressed me the most. He would point out areas where the engine response, drivability, power, reliability, and everything else was not up to his standards in order to go fast."

Photo: Honda

HRC’s President, Koji Watanabe, emphasizes that this is not merely an auction, but a philosophical shift in how Honda preserves and shares its heritage. It's a call to collectors who see beyond horsepower and torque — who understand that motorsport greatness can be both lived and displayed.

A New Chapter in Racing Memorabilia

This auction is only the beginning. Honda’s new memorabilia business will extend into other racing disciplines including IndyCar and MotoGP, offering signed gear, limited-edition collectibles, and rare technical components. But it’s this first step; the offering of Senna’s engine parts that carries the weight of history.

In a world driven by trends and fleeting digital icons, there is a rare class of men who seek permanence. They understand that owning a part of Senna’s legacy is more than collecting — it is curating a story of grit, genius, and the pursuit of greatness.

“Senna never sought immortality — yet in chasing perfection, he found it. This auction doesn’t just sell engine parts; it invites you to hold in your hands the spirit of a man who raced like a poet and lived like a myth.”