Honda to auction parts from Ayrton Senna’s iconic V10 engine

Honda Racing Corporation has announced its entrance into the memorabilia market, offering fans of Formula 1 the chance to get their hands on some of the greatest artefacts from the history of motorsports. This is starting with an auction of the Honda RA100E V10 engine that powered Ayrton Senna to his 1990 F1 world championship.

This auction, the first for the new arm of the organisation, will take place during Monterey Car Week in August 2025.

Alongside the engine will sit other examples of memorabilia, including signed merchandise, limited-edition collectibles, and rare artefacts from the company’s long history. 

“We aim to make this a valuable business that allows fans who love F1, MotoGP, and various other races to share in the history of Honda’s challenges in racing since the 1950s,” said HRC President Koji Watanabe. “Including our fans to own a part of Honda’s racing history is not intended to be a one-time endeavour, but rather a continuous business that we will nurture and grow.”

The pièce de résistance will, of course, be the RA100E, driven by the legendary Senna and disassembled at HRC’s factory in Sakura City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan by its original builders. Each part of the power unit, camshafts, pistons, and connecting rods, for example, will be placed in display cases and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

The car this engine was removed from, the McLaren MP4/5B, was designed by Neil Oatley and won both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. As an evolution of the MP4/5, it was designed for the legendary Brazilian driver and had input from the likes of Gordon Murray who was Technical Director at the time. 

The 3.5-litre engine produced 690-710 horsepower at 13,500 rpm and was exceptionally potent, and while it certainly had its teething problems at the beginning of its life, these were quickly seen to by the Japanese manufacturer. 

Powered by this Honda powerplant, Ayrton Senna won six Grands Prix that year, with team-mate Gerhard Berger taking seven podium finishes. 

Since those glory days with McLaren and after a strong partnership with Red Bull that yielded two constructors’ championships and four drivers’ championships, the Japanese marque is partnering with Aston Martin from 2026, creating power units for the Silverstone-based team. While this has reportedly been a challenge for the company, Honda is confident in their work.