This kid’s car is based on a Ferrari 640 F1-89 – the car remembered for being the first to use now-dominant semi-automtic gearbox technology in Formula 1. Teething problems with the new transmission had hampered the car’s development, but by the time it lined up on the grid in 1989 it had progressed to the point that the car either finished in the top 3, or didn’t finish at all.
Nigel Mansell won the first race for the Ferrari 640 F1-89 in Brazil, and took another win in Hungary, with second place finishes in France and Britain, and third place finishes in Germany and Belgium.
This car has significantly less horsepower than the original 3498cc, 660 hp V12, with its 50cc single-cylinder air-cooled motor. The upper body is fully removable to make maintenance a cinch, and it’s equipped with hydraulic disc brakes, a quick release steering wheel, and a carbon fibre floor pan.
With an estimated value of between $10,000 and $15,000 USD it’s not going to be a toy for everyone’s kids, but if you’d like to read more or register to bid you can click the red button below to visit the listing.
Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.