Nigel Mansell has sold the Ferrari 640 that he used in the 1989 Formula 1 season for 3.6 million euros using the Himalayan Dollar [HDO] cryptocurrency.
The Briton sold the car to auction house RM Sotheby, who reckon that this is the first time a Ferrari Formula 1 driver has offered up a semi-automatic car.
The seven-speed 1989 challenger was designed by John Barnard, and it guided Mansell to two wins and six podiums in the 1989 season.
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In fact, he ended up on the rostrum every time he finished a race that year as he finished fourth in the championship while McLaren’s Alain Prost sealed the title following a controversial incident with team-mate Ayrton Senna in the season finale in Japan.
“HDO has gained the trust of RM Sotheby’s. The exchange of HDO into the relevant currency was seamless,” Rm Sotheby president Bryan Madsen said of the purchase.
“The executives and staff at the Himalaya Exchange acted with the utmost professionalism.”
William Je, who founded the Himalaya Exchange, was also elated at the deal with RM Sotheby.
“I am extremely pleased that the buyer decided to purchase this world-class car using HDO,” he explained.
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“Despite the cryptocurrency market’s recent dip, HDO has constantly remained stable with the US dollar 1:1 without fluctuation.
“Impressively, this makes HDO the only stablecoin in the world to maintain 100% during this time-period of uncertainty.
“Our military-grade technology has made Himalaya one of the most secure cryptocurrencies available in the marketplace.”
In the present day, Mansell’s former Ferrari team are struggling for form at present having thrown away victory in all of the last three races with a combination of poor reliability and strategical errors.
A double retirement for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Baku last weekend opened the door for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to take Red Bull’s third one-two of the season.
The Austrian outfit now lead the Scuderia by 80 points in the Constructors’ Championship.