Ayrton Senna won his last world driving championship in 1991, driving the McLaren MP4-6 with a Honda V-12 engine. Senna won seven of 16 races that year, a feat he’d never again duplicate. At the end of the 1991 season, McLaren tore down one of Senna’s MP4-6 cars and gave some of the parts to artist Jay Burridge, who in turn created a sculpture he describes as “the world’s largest Airfix (plastic model) kit.” The art will be offered for sale at an upcoming Coys Auction, to be held at Germany’s Nürburgring on August 13, 2011.

Whether you love or hate the idea of a historically significant race car being transformed into wall art, there’s no denying that the piece is unique and would be a stunning addition to anyone’s collection. Much of the car is missing, such as Senna’s seat and steering wheel, and the Honda V-12 engine is another glaring omission from the sculpture. Coys describes the piece as using “Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4-6 from his last season as world champion,” but it’s not clear on whether the chassis used in the display was Senna’s primary car or a backup car.

If you’re interested in bidding, be prepared to part with a significant amount of money to acquire this particular piece of sculpture. Thanks to the success of the Ayrton Senna biopic, “Senna,” any memorabilia relating to the Brazilian driver is in high demand. Pre-auction estimates have the sculpture selling between $50,000 and $80,000, but as anyone who’s ever attended an auction will tell you, there’s no limit in a bidding war.

Press release after the jump.

AYRTON SENNA'S McLAREN - THE BIGGEST AIRFIX KIT IN THE WORLD – TO GO UNDER THE HAMMER

A sculpture that features Ayrton Senna's McLaren MP4/6 from his last season as World Champion is to be sold by the International Car auctioneers COYS at their Nurburgring sale in Germany on August 13th.

The gigantic Airfix sculpture was unveiled to the public on Saturday July 16th at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire when COYS hosted its annual Concours d'Elegance and auction at the historic venue – and there to see it unveiled was Ayrton Senna's former manager, Dennis Rushen.

Dennis, who was team manager in Ayrton's formative years said: "I was really impressed with the Senna sculpture. Such a clever idea and it really stands out as something really different. Often at race meetings Senna would fly his radio controlled helicopter. He was really into models and he would have appreciated the concept.

There has been huge renewed interest in Ayrton Senna since the film "Senna" went on general release at cinemas a few weeks ago and the auction house have received a huge amount of interest in the sculpture since they pictured it in their catalogue.

"It will be sold at our auction at the Nurburgring on August 13th," said Chris Routledge from COYS. "It really is a fantastic sculpture that would not be out of place in a design or motor museum or on the wall of a corporate office. We believe that it will sell for between £30,000 and £50,000.

The Formula 1 car was dismantled by McLaren and given to artist Jay Burridge who turned it into the gigantic "Airfix kit" in 1992.