A special 2008 Force India F1 car, which was auctioneered by RM Auctions in London this Wednesday, went under the hammer for £168,000 (about Rs 1.32 crore). The car was painted by motorsport artist Dexter Brown and had the autographs of 41 Formula One drivers and dignitaries. Force One's "art car" was created for a noble cause. The proceeds from the sale, including the auctioneers' commissions, will be given to the Ormond Street Children's Hospital in the UK and will also aid the setting up of the Force India Formula One Team Academy - an initiative to get more of young Indians involved in motorsport.
This car was driven by Giancarlo Fisichella in 16 races in 2008, but this one cannot be driven - it has no engine! VJM01 has the autographs of: John Surtees, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Ross Brawn, Prince Michael of Kent, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan, Vijay Mallya, Martin Whitmarsh, Eric Boullier, Peter Sauber, Tony Fernandez, Patrick Head, Mike Gascoyne, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Nick Heidfeld, Vitaly Petrov, Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez, Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta, Rubens Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado, Jaime Alguesuari, Sebastien Buemi, Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli, Jerome d’Ambrosio, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Garry Paffett, Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok, Narain Karthikeyan and of course Giancarlo Fisichella himself! Nice display to have in your garage, right?
