Mercedes-benz 500SEC
This 500SEC went from businessman’s express to dilapidated relic after being bought new by Ayrton Senna. Its owners since tell its tale
October 1984 – Senna collects his £26,000 Mercedes Ayrton Senna da Silva, fresh from his maiden F1 season with Toleman, collected his new Mercedes 500SEC from Stuttgart on 11 October 1984. With his chosen options and a 30% discount Mercedes offered to GP drivers, it would have cost him around £26,000. He must have blinked on seeing an economy gauge in his latest acquisition – a formidably fast car that Mercedes had tuned further for this yet-to-be-iconic racing driver – but all SECS had them. The car wore its oval German export plates until arriving in England in November 1984, when it was was re-registered B59 GJB.
The purchase coincided with Senna signing for Lotus. Bob Dance, a long-serving Lotus mechanic, has good reason to remember Senna arriving in Norfolk to sign his contract. ‘Senna turning up in a 500SEC was a bit of a statement. These were expensive cars and he was still regarded as a rookie. We racing mechanics decided to test his mettle – while he was inside conducting business, we jacked up his SEC just enough so it didn’t appear to be off the ground. We were confident he wouldn’t notice, and sure enough after the meeting he jumped in and gunned the engine. The rear wheels span wildly, the car rocking on the jacks. We creased up with laughter. Senna just sat, engine idling; the atmosphere grew tense. Sensing the joke was turning sour we lowered the car and he sped off without a word.
‘Next time we met him was the Brazilian Grand Prix. To our surprise he offered us blue sweets. Anxious to please, all us mechanics happily took them. As we sucked on the hard boiled sweets our mouths turned blue. Senna roared with laughter saying, “You’ll be pissing blue for days!”’
Chris Dinnage, now team manager of Classic Team Lotus, travelled with Senna in the SEC. ‘I went to Donington with him in it once and if my memory serves me well the seatbelts appeared out of nowhere on an arm from behind the seat. That was the first time I’d seen that. It was in 1985 and I was 24. I travelled with him a few times over the three years he was with us and I never felt apprehensive, either on the road or around the track. Driving on the road with him was normal, we went from A to B, it wasn’t a race.’
Motor sport journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls encountering Senna near Brands Hatch on the A20 section nicknamed ‘Death Hill’, with a roundabout at the bottom. ‘It all happened in a few seconds, yet it left a lasting impression. Glancing in the mirror a Mercedes is bearing down on me, then hurtling past towards the roundabout. I thought what’s he doing, because he wasn’t slowing. As it came past I recognised Senna. I was lost in admiration as he drifted the SEC through the roundabout; it was beautiful to watch. The back out but it wasn’t a slide. There was no blue smoke or
screeching of tyres. I must stress it wasn’t dangerous because there was no-one else on the road. Senna had a spatial awareness that few drivers have, it’s something they’re born with. I saw him other times driving the SEC but it was always in traffic.’
Bob Griffiths was, and still is, a paramedic at Snetterton. ‘I remember the Mercedes because in those days there weren’t many nice cars around. Senna’s car was a bit of an event and he took a lot of stick from the pit crews over it. I remember them gathering around it and saying “why spend all that money” – it was a big chunk of his salary. My wife took a photo of him sitting in it with his feet up on the dashboard.’
F1 enthusiast Richard Parramint also snapped Ayrton testing at Snetterton, incidentally catching shots of the SEC. ‘I remember the day so well, 12 March 1986. This was the shakedown prior to the Brazilian GP, plus a JPS publicity photograph session. I was working for an office equipment company in Norwich, and Snetterton was one of my customers. March at Snetterton is never the best weather-wise, and I found Ayrton hanging around the radiator of the Volvo transporter trying to get some warmth.
‘After a break in testing I spoke to him about getting one of his helmets – if you don’t ask you don’t get – well I didn’t. He explained that his old helmets went to his charity in San Paulo but he said, “Come with me”, and took me to the boot of his SEC. Opening his briefcase he offered a small helmet badge, explaining that I was the first recipient of one. At the end of the session, as he was getting into the Mercedes he looked around, spotted me and threw me his JPS cap shouting, “Not a helmet, hope that’s OK?”’
One item Richard’s photos capture are the povertyspec steel wheels with domed plastic hubcaps; it’s surprising he didn’t stretch to the optional ‘Mexican Hat’ alloys. The build sheet specifies a limitedslip differential, electric sunroof, cruise control, luggage nets on rear seats, air conditioning, outside temperature gauge, Becker Mexico radio/cassette and the passenger seat electrically adjustable with memory - standard on the driver’s side. In the photo the SEC’S antenna is extended; perhaps he’s listening to Desert Island Discs as he escapes the Norfolk chill.
Service invoices show a first service at 5792 miles on 23rd May 1985 by Rivervale of Pangbourne, Berkshire costing £44.20. By the time of the next service at 13058 miles on 20 August 1986 the car had a few problems – exhaust leak, wheel vibration, driver’s window slow to operate; total cost to rectify was £258.26.
Senna’s ownership ended when he relocated to Monaco, and B59 GJB was sold into the dealer network, maybe Woking Motors of Walton on Thames, the Mercedes agent that had completed the last service.
Trevor Reeves buys B59 GJB on 6 November 1986
Trevor Reeves was an unlikely owner because according to his wife Tracy, ‘Normally he never bought second-hand cars and at that time Senna wasn’t famous. My husband bought it simply because it was a lovely car. He part exchanged his Porsche Turbo for it through a dealer outside London, possibly Surrey.’
Trevor suffered a near-fatal skiing accident seventeen years ago and his memory is hazy, but Tracy recalls, ‘It was one of many exotic cars we had that carried one of our personalised plates, in this case RRN 1T, the initials of Trevor’s advertising agency at the time – Reeves Robertshaw Needham. Before that Trevor worked for Saatchi and Saatchi and became one of Margaret Thatcher’s speech writers. It’s unlikely she ever rode in the car though; usually she sent Trevor notes on what she wanted to say and he turned them into speeches.
‘Originally we kept the car in London although we made trips in it to the South of France. On moving to Gloucestershire in 1987 our local architect, Robert Hardwick, became acquainted with it. Eventually we sold it to him with the RRN1 T registration.’
8 January 1990 – Robert Hardwick pays £25,000
Like the previous owner, Robert bought the car simply because he liked it. ‘I must have paid about £25,000. But it was a beautiful car. I think Trevor Reeves added chrome wheelarch trims and presumably had the steel wheels upgraded to 15in alloys. That’s how the car was when I acquired it. I used the SEC daily for business and pleasure, putting about 160,000 miles on the clock. When I bought it the mileage was modest, 30,000 at most. During my ownership I only had normal maintenance done. It was a good car. By the time I decided to part with the car Senna was famous, so it went to Sotheby’s auction. I only sold it because with a growing family I needed something more practical. Sotheby’s put an estimate of £11,000-£13,000 but regrettably I had to accept a bid of £10,000.’
‘Senna’s car was a bit of an event and he took a lot of stick over it – it was a big chunk of his salary’
Laurence Edscer pays £10,000 at auction in July 1999
Says historic racing driver Laurence Edscer, ‘I’m a dealer in F1 memorabilia so the SEC was a piece of stock. I bought it blind at Sotheby’s Brooklands Auction on Friday 16 July because I was away racing at Spa that weekend. Leaving a bid below the estimate I was surprised to find myself the new owner. In 2002 I tried to sell it for £20,000 but couldn’t get it.
‘Reinstating the original registration was important for the provenance matching the documents that came with it. The handbook had additional pages with typewritten details of the modified camshafts, but nothing showing the revised power output. Had I found a photo of Senna in it, this would have enhanced its provenance. Any photos are likely to be at Snetterton where he tested.’ And how right Laurence is, but he never knew they existed.
‘In 2002 I moved to Carlyon Bay, Cornwall, and the car was there most of the time. I displayed it once at a Senna Weekend at Donington in June 2003. It was a super car to drive – no drama, floor the throttle and it just went, no wheelspin, nothing. I didn’t drive it that much but when I did I just had to drive it quickly; you got in and you just had to go. I remember a hill near St Austell with a series of bends and when I got to the bottom the brakes were almost on fire. To chuck it
about was a pleasure and good practice because my race car was a 1965 Mustang. By the time I did sell it in June 2006, it was rusty and the interior was rotten because of damp, but the rest of it was ok. With hindsight I could have looked after it better. I lost money on it despite trying to raise its profile. I sold it to some chaps from Wales and never heard of it again, until now.’ Mike Bruno buys it for £9150 in June 2006 Says Mike Bruno, ‘I was sceptical at first when I saw the ad, but I decided to go for it. I paid £9150 on 21 June 2006, including £500 delivery because it wasn’t in a fit state to drive. My dad helped with the purchase, but sadly never lived to see the car fully restored. When we jacked the car up we found a spare key taped to a crossmember under the engine – not the place to hide a key. When dad died we put that key in his coffin.
‘There’s only one Senna SEC. Sometimes I just sit in the car and hold the steering wheel – I never lose sight of the fact that this is his car. I wish I’d met him. Me and dad thought it would take a year to restore but it took five; that’s about five thousand hours’ work. I did nearly everything myself apart from the respray.
‘It was damp and full of leaves, the seats and headlining had rotted, even the instrument binnacle was mouldy, beyond repair. I bought a donor SEC to provide interior items, replacement sills and rear screen. The steering wheel and Becker radio are from Senna’s time and all body panels are original. We took it back to bare metal and repaired the rust, and the finish now is better than factory. We repaired and powder-coated the suspension parts. Apart from a strip on the bootlid the chrome is original.
‘Matching velour trim isn’t available so we opted for the black leather seats and carpets from the donor car. I’ve fitted AMG wheels, because in my opinion they suit the car better. The engine needed nothing, even with 190,000 miles on the clock. However, as time’s gone on it’s required relays, coil, HT leads and a new timing chain. Valve stem seals are next on the list because it smokes a bit, and the gearbox is not shifting properly so a refurbishment is on the cards too.
‘I’m scared the car will get hit so I only do about two hundred miles a year in it; I use a transporter for exhibitions. In 2017 I took it to the Mercedes-benz Club’s first SEC Day at Mercedes-benz World near Brooklands. It was displayed beside the SECS of two other world champions, Keke Rosberg and Nigel Mansell. Mercedes then had the car for three months in its museum. This year is the 25th anniversary of Senna’s death so I took it to the SEC Day at Blenheim Palace.’
What’s it like to drive? ‘I’ve had SECS before but this one’s different, it has a bark. It’s much livelier and I had it up to 140mph on a rolling road.
‘I’ll never sell it. Where else could I get a car owned by the greatest racing driver ever. It’s part of our family.’
‘When we jacked it up we found a spare key taped to a crossmember. When dad died we put it in his coffin’