Extremely rare helmets and suits sold by Artcurial

Suits and helmets by Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost sold for very high sums on the sidelines of the Rétromobile show in Paris.

Published on 15/02/2019 à 16:16

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Extremely rare helmets and suits sold by Artcurial

The sale of collector cars by Artcurial during the Rétromobile 2019 show was followed with great attention. Did you know that another auction had been organized, this time concerning helmets and suits used by pilots of Formula 1.

Called “Vibration”, this sale made it possible to raise 1 595 751 euros to more than 300 objects submitted to the hammer of auctioneer Hervé Poulain. The most expensive lots were obviously worn by the legends of this sport, starting with Ayrton senna.

Ayrton Senna's suit used at Toleman in 1984 © Artcurial

His 1984 suit, used at Toleman, left for 97 euros, while the estimate was for a sale between 500 and 15 euros ! This combination was given by the Brazilian to a Michelin engineer at the end of that season.

His great rival Alain Prost also excited buyers when betting on a headset used at Ferrari in 1990. This helmet, from the Arai brand, was used in five victorious grands prix that year and is marked “ To Cleto. For the ricordodellastagione 90 », which means " To Cleto, in memory of the 90 season ». Cleto being at the time the engineer of the quadruple world champion.

#AUCTIONUPDATE the only #AlainProst @F1 (lot 57) of the #Vibration auction just fetched €54, way above estimate #retromobile2019 #artcurial @RetromobileFR #motorcars pic.twitter.com/hHXjTvzsdy

— ARTCURIAL (@Artcurial) 10th February 2019

Objects from the quarry Michael Schumacher also attracted interest. Un helmet, which remained in prototype form, was sold for 52 euros. Worn in private tests by the German in 2000, it is the very first Schuberth helmet developed in collaboration with the “Kaiser”. It was nicknamed "The Crocodile", because of its aerodynamic deflectors:

Michael Schumacher's “Crocodile” helmet in the winter of 2000-01. © Artcurial

Another highly rated helmet, the version used at the 2004 Italian Grand Prix. In order to pay tribute to the fans, the colors of the German flag were replaced by the colors of the Italian flag. Purchase price : 41 600 euros.

Mr. Schumacher's 2004 Italian GP helmet © Artcurial

For the unfortunate, know that a variety of objects have not found a buyer. For example, a helmet used by Jenson Button during his F1 debut with Williams in 2000. Perhaps it will be put back on the market in the future…

>>The complete list of helmets and suits from the Artcurial sale at Rétromobile 2019<<