Schumacher's Ferrari sells for record $7.5 million

The Michael Schumacher Monaco Grand Prix-winning Ferrari F2001 has sold for $7,504,000 at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York, making it the most valuable modern era F1 car sold at auction.

This was the first time that the F2001 had been offered for public sale, and it attracted strong bidding both in the room and on the phone. It sold to a private collector on the phone for(7,504,000, well above the ) 4-5 million estimate, and more than doubling the previous record for a modern era Formula 1 car at auction.

One of the most historically important contemporary race cars, the F2001, chassis 211, is the car that secured the 2001 Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships for Scuderia Ferrari. It was driven to victory by Michael Schumacher, at arguably the most important and prestigious automobile race in the world – the Grand Prix de Monaco.

A portion of proceeds from the sale of the car will be donated by the former owner to Michael Schumacher’s Keep Fighting Foundation. Keep Fighting seeks to channel the positive energy received by Michael Schumacher and the Schumacher family as a force for good in the world in achieving cultural and social benefits. Additional information on Keep Fighting’s efforts and activities is available at keepfighting.ms.

The Contemporary Art Evening Sale brought a total of $310.2 million with 96 percent of lots sold, a great result for the company – and RM Sotheby’s returns to New York on December 6 for its Icons motoring sale, part of Sotheby’s ‘A Life of Luxury’ Week.