Armori Steele selling Senna's crashed FW16 Imola nosecone for $120,000 but there's a catch

[NathanOlder]

They replied to my email saying it changed ownership in december 2017 and they no longer have it.

yeah, i noticed it was december 2017 on the website, so i was actually doubtfull whether they still had it,
but it seems somebody has taken the bait.

what a world.

Indeed, I replied straight away asking if the sold the item with any Authenticity, and that I had reason to believe they were selling a fake item. They have not replied since

[Manoah2u]

sure they won't that's how it rolls.

chances are it's a tiny crew of people scamming about like this. you need only 2 really, tops.
both enjoying lavish luxurious lifestyles.

hope karma will come soon and really, really, really hard.

[gold333]

They've obviously taken the page down in haste.

This is a Google cache copy as proof of what they did:











I guess the nosecone is worth about $300 being from a 95-97 Williams. The Shoei helmet is not a particularly well painted example in my opinion. Worth around $2800? I think the autograph is fake. The Sid Mosca helmet, I believe Sid sold those for around $1000 before he died in 2011. The magazine articles are worthless. The display podiums $400 each, at best. So they've sold $4900 worth of memorabilia for $120,000 to a gullible buyer.

I think the important thing is to name the owners. They could just close down and start a new company when people catch on to their activities.

The names of the founders of this company are:

Andy Chung and Mai Tran.



Those two individuals are the ones putting on this freakshow.

https://armoristeele.com/en/team

[NathanOlder]

scumbags

[Manoah2u]

Whoa, she's absolutely gorgeous though. I'd want to say she'll get some pretty rough time if she'd ever gets busted and locked up, but then i remember she's got plenty of money so she'll buy herself either out or protection.

btw, i don't think those are actually their real names.
even if they are,

the team itself comprises of 8 more 'partners in crime'.

funny though that the page with the nosecone has been taken down
good job guys, even though somebody fell for it. i'm sure contacting the Ayrton Senna official website,
aswell as your direct question to the page itself has resulted in this. im sure they're sweating a bit there.

this one however is also a scam

https://armoristeele.com/en/news/exclus ... s-29500usd



that is also a fake senna helmet, check out the ('aerodynamic') 'bulge' on the left top of the helmet. that never was on a 1993 helmet.

same goes for Schumacher's helmet, it has vertical entries at the chin area for this helmet, which were rather horizontal (diagonal), not like this. also, the autograph on the visor is clearly false and badly copied, check the real thing out:



also, hamilton's helmet is incorrect, the mercedes logo is seated too high up the helmet, the petronas 'word' is too big, and epson wasn't there untill the 2015 season. it's a replica helmet that you can buy on allracinghelmets

scam scam scam scam scam

[Manoah2u]

btw i'm thinking they mostly get away with things due to the fact A.) the lady is a lawyer, so she surely knows how to operate within the 'boundaries of the law'. and B) the helmets are 'signed'. nobody said they are actually originally signed by said driver. it's nevertheless a scam. they're pretty nifty though, gotta hand it to them. just buy a replica helmet for a few hundred bucks most, practice on the signature and put it on the visor with a few adjustments so that you can legally say it's an 'interpretation' and actual 'tribute art' when confronted, have it distinguishable as not being actually the real thing, and then use what's available to sell it as if it's something it's not.

for example; 'signed 1993 senna helmet' makes people believe it's a real 1993 helmet that senna wore and he himself has signed. unfortunately, that's not the case and they can get away with it - easily- because A) it's signed. B it's a 1993 helmet of said driver'.
they trick you into authenticity by having their own 'authentification' LOL.

it's smart scamming. scamming, but still smart.

sad that people buy that. most people aren't so 'nerdy' if you want that they could recognise it so are oblivious to the scamming.
i'm sure that if they ever get caught red-handed they just 'apologise' and 'donate' a good amount of money to a charity foundation like that of senna or schumacher, and it's forgotten.

[NathanOlder]

Pretty sure forgery is illegal isn't it.

[gold333]

Manoah2u.

It's not that simple. Forgery is forgery. It is not a: "Crashed nose cone from Imola 1994".

It's false advertising and fraudulent in my view.

PS: The Shoei helmet is genuine Shoei though, albeit painted the wrong shade of yellow. The airvent version was a variation of the helmet Senna used in at least the Monaco GP in 1993.I don't know of any other race he used that version. Edit: I was wrong, it looks like the vents don't match.See post below.

The one for sale here was obviously not used by Ayrton, nor is that his signature I believe.

That helmet is currently on Ebay for $24,500.

The important thing to understand who these two people in the photograph above and what kind of operation they run.

Edit: "Gorgeous" ? We'll agree to disagree on that.

[Manoah2u]

Manoah2u.

It's not that simple. Forgery is forgery. It is not a: "Crashed nose cone from Imola 1994".

It's false advertising and fraudulent.

oh i'm not saying that it's not fraudulent, and sure, it's forgery.
i just wonder to what degree they can 'abuse' statements.

PS: The Shoei helmet is genuine Shoei though, albeit painted the wrong shade of yellow. The airvent version was a variation of the helmet Senna used in at least the Monaco GP in 1993.I don't know of any other race he used that version.

interesting point about Monaco 1993.
here's a high-res pic

http://sf.co.ua/14/07/wallpaper-290283.jpg

it's still in the wrong position though, and the wrong actual shape.

and indeed, wrong yellow.

also, the Schumacher helmet isn't even the right shape, it's missing the 'lower lip'.

The important thing to understand is that the two people in the photograph above should never be trusted selling sports memorabilia. They are scam artists.

definately

Edit: "Gorgeous" ? We'll agree to disagree on that.

Well, i'd sure walk right up to her and buy her a drink in the club if i'd spot her there
then take her with me, tie her up, and make her confess everything, and make her pay back all the wrongs

anyway, what i find remarkable is how people like this are vulturing on people's good heartedness.
i mean,
just look at their photos, sitting behind their 'market stalls' at some expo's or events, with friendly smiles and all,
profiting on unknowing people excited to see memorabilia, helmets, from f1, hockey, baseball,etc, signed gloves, signed balls, etc. thinking wow that is so cool, i want that! and paying huge amounts for these things - logically thinking that it must be real by the sale prices, and the misleading 'proof of authenticity'.

makes me actually wonder how much of these people you'd run into in your life, especially on any 'event'.
it surely makes me much more weiry (do i write that correct?) at events from now on (think expo's like comic con, racing days, track days, sport events, etc.)

[gold333]

interesting point about Monaco 1993.
here's a high-res pic

http://sf.co.ua/14/07/wallpaper-290283.jpg

it's still in the wrong position though, and the wrong actual shape.

I stand corrected!Well done! Even the helmet is off. The yellow looks similar but that is because of the lighting. Most replicators make the mistake of painting Senna's helmets "Camel cigarettes" yellow. In actuality the 1993 is a lighter shade of yellow.

[gold333]

For those that still can't see the difference from the images, this graphic might help.

[NathanOlder]

[turbof1]

Currently our hands are tight by current projects on articles combined with the race weekend, however if anybody is willing to write an article themselves we MIGHT (have to check in with Steven to make sure) put it up on the front page, with full credit given to the author. Looks fair enough that we did an article on this to warn people of fraudulent practices.

[NathanOlder]

I agree, and I feel Gold333 has done a fantastic job bringing in this to everyones attention , well done mate

[Manoah2u]

I agree, and I feel Gold333 has done a fantastic job bringing in this to everyones attention , well done mate

I fully agree.

I've taken the opportunity to write something, i hope Gold333 will participate too. Will contact the mods soon and send my material.