Here’s your chance to buy the coolest piece of motorsport memorabilia ever: Michael Schumacher’s race-winning V10 engine from his 1998 Formula 1 F300 car. From the era of shrieking, high-revving F1 engines, this V10 masterpiece revs to over 17,000 rpm and produces 805 horsepower at its peak. More importantly, Schumacher’s autograph is on the valve cover. The engine is being auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as a bare block with two out of its four camshafts, an exhaust, a crankshaft, and a set of numbered gears.
While it’s far from being operational, very few of these race engines are ever offered up for private sale making this a rare opportunity for bragging rights. This engine was owned by former Ferrari F1 engineer Nigel Stepney and is part of a collection of rare motorsport memorabilia that’s also being offered up for auction. Expected pricing on the engine stands between $60,000-85,000 though it is being offered with no reserve so it could sell for less.
With a total of six wins under his belt that season, there’s a good chance this was the very engine that powered him to some if not all of those victories. It could make for a great coffee table base. Or with enough determination and money, the coolest engine swap for a project car.
Of course, all that money could get you something like a 2024 BMW M2 which retails at just under $70,000. As far as the well-heeled collector goes, we know which one they’d rather have.
