Iconic Grand Prix World Championship-winning Honda raced by legendary Mike Hailwood could become £1million motorcycle at November auction
A fully restored factory Honda RC173 raced by motorcycle legend Mike Hailwood in the 1960s is set to go under the hammer in the UK, with experts predicting it could become a £1million machine.
Auction house Iconic Auctioneers, which is handling the sale of the ex-Hailwood motorcycle, has placed an estimate of between £750,000 and £950,000 on the historic racer. However, rare Grand Prix-winning motorcycles have been known to exceed their guide prices, raising the possibility that the bike could sell for more than £1million.
Hailwood rode this exact machine to the 1966 350cc world championship, defeating Italian rival Giacomo Agostini during one of the most celebrated periods in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
The Honda RC173 is considered particularly significant because it was built especially for Hailwood, who was also competing in the 250cc and 500cc classes at the time.
During the 1966 season, Hailwood claimed victories on the bike at the West German, French, Dutch, Czech, Finnish and Ulster Grands Prix, setting a number of fastest laps along the way.
He continued to race the same motorcycle the following year, using it in selected invitational race entries.
After its competitive career ended, the bike became part of the Wheatcroft Donington Collection, where it remained for several years. It was later sold at auction by the Hailwood family in 1997 and has been with the same UK-based owner ever since.
Over the past three decades, the motorcycle has been carefully maintained and fully restored to running order.
It has appeared at selected events and parades, and was also loaned to the Honda Collection Hall in Motegi, Japan, where it underwent a complete chassis and engine rebuild.
The work, carried out in June 2005, retained the motorcycle’s original matching engine and frame numbers before it was returned to its current owner.
The Honda RC173 will be offered for sale by Iconic Auctioneers on Sunday, November 15, at the NEC in Birmingham.
Also on sale at the auction will be a Vimto Honda SP-1 ridden by Joey Dunlop at his final Isle of Man TT in 2000.
Expected to fetch a six-figure sum, Northern Ireland sporting legend Dunlop won the Formula One TT on the machine, which was fitted with an Aaron Slight factory World Superbike engine and Showa suspension.
The Honda was returned to its BSB trim after the race, with Joey finishing third in the Senior TT in the Vimto colours and setting his fastest lap around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course at 123.87mph in what would be his last TT race. This is this version of the SP-1 that will be auctioned by Iconic Auctioneers in November.
John McGuinness was Joey’s Honda team-mate in 2000 and the SP-1 raced by the English rider will also go under the hammer. McGuinness finished third on the Honda in the Formula One race and joined Joey and runner-up Michael Rutter (V&M Yamaha) on the podium.