(Reuters) - Pirelli are planning to sell off a 2011 HRT Formula One car in a charity auction on eBay because nobody in the Italian tyre company wants to use it for promotional purposes.
Pirelli acquired the engine-less car last season after the Spanish-based tail-enders folded with debts still outstanding.
The tyre maker had intended to repaint it in their black and yellow colours and put it on display at dealerships and company events.
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of enthusiasm, it’s a bit of a shame really,” Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery told Reuters at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday.
“Our marketing department said nobody seems to want to use it. So I said let’s put it on eBay for charity.
“We’re trying to find a category on eBay for an F1 car and we’ll probably run it (the auction) for quite a few months to see what money we can raise for charity,” he added.
Five other HRT cars, also without engines or gearboxes, were bought for re-sale by a Spanish auto breaker in February.
HRT’s drivers in 2011 were Indian Narain Karthikeyan, Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi.
(Source: uk.reuters.com)
