The Benetton B191 Ford Cosworth driven by seven-time champion Michael Schumacher in his first F1 season will auction through Coys at the Nurburgring, Germany, this Saturday, August 10.
Nelson Piquet and Roberto Moreno originally drove the car in the 1991 season, but after Benetton boss Flavio Briatore signed the German for the team mid-campaign, Schumacher made his team debut at the Monza Grand Prix, replacing Moreno.
Schumacher went on to secure fifth place at Monza in the Benetton car, and finished sixth in both the 1991 Portuguese and Spanish Grand Prix.
"This is a stunning and fine handling racing car. It represents a highly important piece of both Benetton and Michael Schumacher’s history," said Coys’ managing director Chris Routledge.
The car remains in superb race-ready condition, thanks to a restoration by a leading British Formula One specialist, who returned it to the exact 1991 Benetton specification.
It has since appeared at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in both 2003 and 2006.
Grand Prix driver Martin Brundle said of the car: "Fits like an old pair of trainers. It was always such an easy car to drive. It would step out a little bit at the back, but it would go no further… it was really stable."
At this year’s Goodwood Festival, the world auction record for any car was set by the 1954 Mercedes W196 driven by Juan Manuel Fangio at $29.6m.
Paul Fraser Collectibles in the UK (www.paulfrasercollectibles.com) has an excellent selection of Formula One memorabilia for sale, including signed items from Jim Clark, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
