5 Limited edition cars named after F1 drivers

Formula 1 drivers are some of the world's highest-paid athletes, with multi-million dollar contracts and endorsement deals. The numbers are completely mind-blowing, to say the least.

Consider this - Sebastian Vettel is believed to be on a 3-year $150 million contract with Scuderia Ferrari. And Michael Schumacher - arguably the sport's greatest of all time - was regularly ranked among the highest paid athletes by Forbes magazine during his heyday. Schumacher was paid $10 million per year just for wearing a cap with Shell logo in all of his public appearances.

Not only do Formula One drivers drive the coolest cars in the most splendid circuits around the world, they also have the most amazing of cars in their personal car collection.

So what more can a Formula driver ask for apart from earning millions, driving awesome cars and traveling all over the world doing what they love? Well, how does having a car named after you sound like?

That's exactly what some of the world's top automobile manufacturers have done to honor the legacies of the sport's greatest. It's a win-win situation for both the manufacturer and the driver - the manufacturer uses the Driver's name to drive sales and the driver not only gets a fitting tribute in the form of having a namesake car but also gets paid royalties.

In this two-part series, we take a look at 10 cars named after Formula One drivers. This slideshow features 5 such cars:

#1 Jack Brabham Torana

The Holden Torana was one of Australia’s top mid-size car manufacturers during the period of 1967 to 1980. They were well-known for their performance cars because they were Australia’s first in the category.

The word 'Torana' literally means 'to fly' in native Aboriginal language.

From 1969 to 1973, Holden produced the 6-cylinder model of the car which received an upgrade to an 8-cylinder model from 1974 to 1977. Four-cylinder vehicles in Australia became quite popular in the 1960s. During this period, sport and performance cars became quite popular among the Australian public.

The first generation Holden Torana was a two/four door sedan having a 4-cylinder engine producing 56 bhp. A sports model of the car was introduced in October 1967, called the 'Brabham Torana'. It was named in honor of the 3-time Formula World Champion - Sir John Arthur Brabham - popularly known as Jack Brabham.

Sir Jack is the only driver in the history of Formula One to have won a championship while driving a car belonging to his own team. This car was similar to the existing model but with a few unique paint trims and the power boosted to 79 bhp.

Earlier this year, a Holden Brabhams Torana driven by the late Sir Jack himself sold at an auction for a whopping $365,000 AUD.

# Chevrolet Celta Piquet

3-time Formula One World Champion Nelson Piquet was one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. In a career spanning 13 years from 1978 to 1991, Piquet won as many as 23 races.

Piquet along with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost dominated Formula One in the 1980s, with the trio winning 8 out of 10 Championships during the period 1980 - 1990.

Chevrolet Celta was a low-cost supermini car that was sold in the South American markets by General Motors. The car was called ' Suzuki Fun ' in Argentina. It was under production between 2000 to 2015.

In 2003, Chevrolet signed a partnership with Assolan Industrial (a steel wool manufacturer) and three-time world champion Nelson Piquet for a national-level campaign. As part of the campaign, 30 limited edition cars bearing the name of the Brazilian legend were produced.

The special series was based on the Super four-door version - 1.0 8v HCV with 70 hp gasoline - and was produced only in yellow color. Externally, it varied from the regular Chevrolet Celta with side skirts and spoilers (front and rear), and 13 " rim aluminum wheels. Since very few of them were manufactured, their scarcity makes them a valuable find.

# Mercedes Benz SLR Stirling Moss

McLaren and Mercedes-Benz forged a successful partnership in the 1990s and 2000s, winning three Championships - two by Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999, and one by Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

During this period of success, one of the finest sports cars ever manufactured was born - the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The car was launched in 2003 as a coupe body and convertible and used a supercharged 5.4-liter V8 engine with 617 hp.

At the 2009 edition of The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), McLaren and Mercedes-Benz unveiled the limited edition (75 vehicles) Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Moss named in honor of the great British driver of the 1950s. Stirling Moss, who drove for Team Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Lotus, won 16 races in 66 starts.

The limited edition car was designed by South Korean designer Yoon Il-hun, while the interior was designed by Dutchman Sarkis Benliyan. The supercharged 5.4-litre SLR AMG V8 engine packs 651 hp and can reach a top speed of 350 km/h, including from 0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds.

The SLR Stirling Moss retailed for over $1 million, and due to its limited production is a highly valued car today among car hoarders. One came up for auction in 2016 and sold for $3 million USD.

# Fiat Stilo Schumacher

7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher is arguably the greatest Formula One driver of all time. During his racing days, the German was regularly ranked among the sport's highest grossing earners by Forbes magazine.

The Fiat Stilo was a small family car available as either a 3-door or a 5-door which was sold in Italy and Brazil until 2010. The car was launched in 2001. A Schumacher special edition of the Stilo was launched in 2004 and was produced until 2006.

The limited edition Fiat Stilo had a 2.4-litre, 170bhp engine and a completely revamped body kit. It also featured the MS logos, and there was even a more beefed-up Schumacher GP version with additional external trims.

From 2001 to 2006, Fiat did huge marketing campaigns for the Fuat Stilo in Latin American countries, utilizing the services of Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barichello.

# Fiat Seicento Schumacher Sporting

The German legend is the only Formula One driver to have two cars named after him. Apart from the Fiat Stilo Michael Schumacher edition, Fiat also brought out a special edition of the FIat Seicento called the Fiat Seicento Schumacher Sporting edition.

The FIat Seicento, also called the Fiat 600, was a city car which was mass produced between 1997 and 2010. It houses a 900cc engine producing 40 hp.

A Michael Schumacher edition of the car was produced in 2001 to commemorate Schumacher's first Formula One World title with Team Scuderia Ferrari. In addition to the regular Fiat Seicento Sporting model, the Schumacher edition featured ABS and the Abarth styling kit.

This model was similar to the 'Sporting' with the Abarth kit, with the exception of chrome gear lever surrounds and Schumacher's signature on the boot lid and side skirt. A limited edition plate and number was located on the passenger door.

Limited edition cars named after f1 drivers part-2

Edited by Musab Abid