A 1981 DAP kart is going up for auction with Bonhams on Feb. 5, and is expected to reach between $27,000-$32,000.
That’s because this kart was the last World Championship go-kart raced by Ayrton Senna prior to the Brazilian’s legendary Formula One career.
A member of DAP purchased the kart (without an engine) shortly after Senna’s last race in Parma, Italy in 1981. The kart was new at the time, and had been built to suit Senna’s preferences.
The kart has since been fitted with an identical engine to which Senna raced it with, and has been used for less than two hours since.
Senna’s book “50 Ans de Karting” will be sold along with the kart.
The three-time Formula One World Champion called out his go-kart racing late on in his F1 career, stating that it was “pure driving, pure racing. There wasn’t any politics then, right? And no money involved either. So it was real racing,” in a soundbite that was picked up in the 2010 documentary “Senna.”
Perhaps it was this fact that made Gran Turismo put one of Senna’s DAP Karts in its latest video game.
And if you’re still not convinced that Senna’s go-kart was an important part of building himself as a racer, just take it from the man himself:
The full Bonhams listing can be viewed HERE.
