- Ayrton Senna’s legendary 1986 Lotus 98T Formula 1 car is heading to Sotheby’s auction in March 2026.
- The 745kW turbocharged icon could fetch a record-breaking price, with estimates reaching up to AU$17 million.
- Driven by Senna to multiple victories and pole positions, the Lotus 98T remains one of the most powerful and significant cars in Formula 1 history.
Think of the long and decorated history of Formula 1, and you’ll struggle to name any driver who has reached the same mythical status as Ayrton Senna – the Brazilian icon whose raw speed and unmatched race strategy were second only to his sheer determination to stand atop the podium at every Grand Prix.
Senna raced at a time in motorsport when the inherent thrill of the racetrack was accentuated by unchecked horsepower monsters sporting the now-iconic liveries of John Player Special and Marlboro – a time long lost to history.
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Through Senna’s three World Championship titles, a catalogue of official records, his iconic TAG Heuer timepieces, and the championship-winning cars that defined his career, his legacy has only grown since his tragic death at Imola more than 30 years ago. Among them stands one machine that needs no introduction.
Senna’s 1986 Lotus 98T: Winner of the 1986 Spanish Grand Prix and 1986 United States Grand Prix, and largely considered one of the fastest and most powerful machines ever entered into the fabled sport of Formula 1.
Capable of producing more than 745kW (1,000bhp), the Lotus was an icon of F1’s wildest era, going wheel to wheel with legends of the sport such as Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Senna’s historic rival, Alain Prost, to take two victories, five pole positions, and a further three podium finishes in just eight Grandes Prix… and now, it could be yours (if you have a cool AU$17 million).
Auctioned through Sotheby’s on 4 March 2026, the Lotus 98T is expected to fetch between US$9,500,000 and US$12,000,000 (~AU$13 million to ~AU$17 million). So it’s not exactly loose change.
In fact, it’s expected to end as one of the most expensive cars ever sold at auction, surpassing Michael Schumacher’s 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA and Hamilton’s 2013 Mercedes W04. Although it would take a very generous participant to take the Lotus over the record-breaking sale of Juan Manuel Fangio’s €51.155 million (~AU$86.7 million) Mercedes-Benz W196 R ‘Stromlinienwagen’, just so long as it’s not used as a room divider after the hammer falls.
But now, four decades after its final swansong, the Lotus is once again on the move, and one lucky recipient will be the proud owner of motorsport legacy. One that is forever etched into the annals of Formula 1 history, intrinsically linked with one of the sport’s most revered and loved drivers, and with respected provenance since leaving Lotus in 1988. Let’s face it, you’d struggle to put a price on that.
