Lot details Registration No: N/A Chassis No: BAR003-05 Mot Expiry: N/A
British American Tobacco's (BAT) involvement in Formula One dates back to the Monaco Grand Prix of 1968, when Gold Leaf colours first replaced the familiar Green and Yellow of the Team Lotus entries. By the early '90s, Ken Tyrrell had relinquished much of the control of his grand prix team, and in 1997 was persuaded to sell out to BAT.
For the first season the cars were run as Tyrrells (even though Tyrrell himself was no longer involved) and powered by Ford engines. The drivers were Ricardo Rosset and Toranosuke Takagi. For 1999 they ran under the banner of British American Racing (BAR) for the first time, were powered by Supertec engines and driven by the potentially more competitive line up of Jacques Villeneuve, Ricardo Zonta and Mika Salo. However, the cars proved unreliable and the results were disappointing. From 2000 onwards the deal with Honda had been struck and the results started to flow, with placings in the Constructors Championship as follows - 5th (2000), 6th (2001), 8th (2002) and 5th (2003). Jenson Button partnered Villeneuve for the 2003 assault, with the popular Japanese driver Takuma Sato serving as reserve driver.
The BAR-Honda offered is believed (but not guaranteed) to be a 2001 chassis that was subsequently converted to a c2003 Jenson Button show/display car. There are signs of apparent race/testing usage (eg carbon deposits on the exhaust pipes, brake sensor wires, barge board ID plates etc). It features: a carbonfibre tub, wishbones and pushrods; carbon brake discs all round; and the brake calipers, steering rack and steering wheel are all in place. The gearbox has no internals and the there is no engine. In summary, the car is complete for show/display purposes save for a missing mirror and barge board. Surely the perfect present for all Button fans!
PLEASE NOTE: This lot is being offered for sale by Honda Racing (Honda UK) and as such VAT will be payable on the hammer price as well as the buyer's premium.
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