World's most expensive remote-controlled car to be sold at F1 auction

A 1:3 scale model of the F1 car that Michael Schumacher drove to his 2002 World Championship victory is going under the hammer at the UK motor racing track of Silverstone. Joe Giddens/PA Wire/dpa

A remote-controlled car is expected to fetch more than a quarter of a million pounds at auction to become the “most expensive” in the world, according to experts.

The vehicle, which has a top speed of just under 80 km/h, is a scale model of the Ferrari F2002 driven by Michael Schumacher when he became Formula One world champion in 2002, and is a third of its size.

The car will be auctioned with a guide price of £200,000 ($253,000) at the UK's Whittlebury Park, Silverstone, along with 60 other items of motor racing memorabilia on Thursday, three days before the British Grand Prix.

Schumacher signed the rear spoiler of the remote-controlled car when he visited Atelier Mediatech in Switzerland, where it was made.

David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at Graham Budd Auctions, which is hosting the auction with The Race, called the car a "feat of mechanical genius."

"This is a genuine work of art which took a team of expert engineers three years and 1,000 hours to create," he said.

"The car’s top speed is 80 km/h, so whoever owns it next will certainly need a good-sized garden if they plan to test it out," Convery said.

"With the auction taking place just days before the British Grand Prix and yards away from the pit lane at Silverstone, we’re expecting to see some big bids on these items from all over the world."

Other items expected to go under the hammer include race suits worn by F1 champions Schumacher, Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

A 1:3 scale model of the F1 car that Michael Schumacher drove to his 2002 World Championship victory is going under the hammer at the UK motor racing track of Silverstone. Joe Giddens/PA Wire/dpa