Former World Champion Nigel Mansell’s 1989 reliability stuck Ferrari 640 was sold using Himalaya Dollars cryptocurrency
Nigel Mansell drove the Ferrari 640 for the 1989 Formula 1 season. The iconic Ferrari car had been in his personal car collection since 1989.
The 1989 season is one of the most iconic seasons in F1 history. McLaren’s Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost collided with one another on the first lap in Japan to decide the driver’s champion.
Alain Prost would finally win the world championship after Senna was disqualified after the race for not rejoining the track correctly.
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Nigel Mansell’s history with unreliability in 1989
Nigel Mansell finished fourth in the world championship driving his Ferrari 640 finishing behind Riccardo Patrese’s Williams.
The Italian car had Tipo 035/5, a 3.5-liter, V12 engine producing 660 bhp (492 kW; 669 PS). It was revolutionary as it was Formula One’s first true sequential-style paddle-shift gearbox.
However, the car had reliability issues despite never finishing below third whenever it raced. Moreover, Mansell retired in seven of the sixteen races and was disqualified in two of them.
The Lion won the first race in Brazil. Secondly, he celebrated a few podium places in France and England, and he won the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Onboard with Nigel Mansell (Ferrari V12, 640) during practice. Mansell spins in the stadium section, teammate Gerhard Berger takes to the grass to avoid Mansell. German GP, Hockenheim, 1989. #F1 pic.twitter.com/N23CD0N6Or
— F1 in the 1990s 🚦🏎🏁🏆🍾 (@1990sF1) December 23, 2020
Nigel Mansell’s Ferrari sold for $3.7 Million
The RM Sotheby’s class car auctioneers sold the car for a whopping $3.7 Million in Himalaya Dollar cryptocurrency. They also believe that it was the first time a Works driver has offered his own Ferrari for an auction.
Additionally, it turned out to be the first Ferrari F1 car to have been a part of an auction equipped with a semi-automatic gearbox.
Mansell’s teammate Gerhard Berger had a pretty unfortunate 1989 season. He drove for just three races securing a win in the Portuguese Grand Prix and two podiums in Italy and Spain.
The way it was 1989, Canada GP, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve,
Montreal.
Mr Nigel Mansell with Ferrari 640 V12. pic.twitter.com/5UOz3BqIec— kaneko hiroshi (@kaneko928) December 5, 2020
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