Senna was only a handful of races into his Formula 1 career when he got called up for the 1984 Race of Champions, held at the newly opened Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit.
Against a field of existing and future F1 champions in identical Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16s – commonly known as the 190E Cosworth – Senna qualified third and won the rain-affected race, cementing his status as a star on the rise.
Just a handful of weeks later he came second to Alain Prost at the soaking wet Monaco Grand Prix, well and truly putting his name on the map.
While the lightly-modified ROC Mercs weren’t given to their star drivers, Senna ended up buying one with his own money in 1985, taking delivery late in the year after he’d notched up his first F1 win with Lotus.
A total of 19,487 examples of the 190E 2.3-16 were reportedly produced, however only 600 were made in right-hand drive, making Senna’s a relatively rare car.
Power came from a 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine with a dual overhead cam head designed by Cosworth, bumping its power from 101kW to 138kW.
Driven by Senna and fellow Brazilian Maurício Gugelmin from Mercedes-Benz’s German factory to his home in Surrey, Senna held onto the 190E Cosworth until 1987, having logged approximately 40,000km when it was sold to a friend of his manager.
The car’s current owner purchased it in 1996 and it resided in the UK, until both the owner and car moved to Australia in 2004. It was made compliant with Australian import laws by deleting its air-conditioning system.
Now it’s been listed for sale in the UK by RM Sotheby’s, with its 154,302-mile (248,300km) odometer reading showing it hasn’t just been parked up in a garage.
In 2016, its engine bay was also signed by the late Niki Lauda, who finished second to Senna in the 1984 Race of Champions, before winning that year’s F1 title.
According to Classic.com, the average known sale price of a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 across the past five years has been US$26,200 (A$40,250), with the highest confirmed auction price being 95,450 Swiss Francs (A$182,900) in 2020.
By comparison, RM Sotheby’s estimates the Senna-owned example could sell for between £220,000 (A$456,450) and £250,000 (A$518,700) at its upcoming London auction, set to take place on November 1.
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