The Formula 1 magnate’s collection includes 69 racing cars expected to fetch “hundreds of millions” combined (Image: Tom Hartley Jnr)
Bernie Ecclestone, the 94-year-old ‘godfather’ of modern Formula 1, has put his entire collection of classic racing cars up for sale, with the full set expected to be worth over £100 million, or around $200 million in Aussie dollars.
The collection includes 69 vehicles, spanning from a a 1931 Bugatti Type 54S all the way to the 2002 championship-winning Ferrari driven by Michael Schumacher. A range of F1 and other Grand Prix racers are among the listings.
A total of 18 Ferraris are among the listings, including the 1949 Thin Wall Special previously owned by Vanwall founder Tony Vandervell.
A total of 18 Ferraris are included in the collection, including Michael Schumacher’s 2002 championship-winning car (Image: Tom Hartley Jnr)
There are also 28 Brabhams on offer such as the championship-winning cars from 1981 and 1983, although the banned 1978 Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46B ‘Fan Car’ is the standout among them.
Many of these cars have been owned by Ecclestone since they were new, during his time as the owner of the team, and haven’t been publicly sighted for years.
“I love all of my cars but the time has come for me to start thinking about what will happen to them should I no longer be here, and that is why I have decided to sell them,” Ecclestone said of the decision to sell his entire collection.
“After collecting and owning them for so long, I would like to know where they have gone and not leave them for my wife to deal with should I not be around.”
One of the most iconic cars in the collection is the banned 1978 Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46B ‘Fan Car’ (Image: Tom Hartley Jnr)
The sale will be handled by Tom Hartley Jnr, with the company’s namesake founder believing “the value of the collection combined is well into the hundreds of millions” – and that’s in pounds sterling.
You can see more of the collection in the video below:
