[ CHASING CARS ] Nigel Boothman’s Market analysis
Formula One mogul’s classics set for once-in-a-lifetime sale
Red hot: Bernie Ecclestone’s racing car collection is sure to reach high sums
After a few rumours escaped, the sale of the Ecclestone collection was confirmed by Derbyshire-based dealer Tom Hartley Jnr on 2 December. In total, 69 cars will be offered through Hartley’s business, representing what is surely the greatest collection of Formula One cars anywhere in the world.
The listings vary from Fifties front-engined Ferraris such as Alberto Ascari’s Monza GP-winning 375 F1 and the Thinwall Special, to the large array of Seventies and Eighties Brabhams retained by then-team owner Bernie Ecclestone and never offered anywhere before. All F1 eras are covered, at least up to Michael Schumacher’s dominant reign at Ferrari – one of his championshipwinning machines is among those included in the sale. Ecclestone’s choices look to have been as astute as expected from Formula One’s greatest dealmaker. In newspaper coverage of the story, estimates for the total value of the collection has been pitched at £250m-£500m.
As we go to press, details of the practical side of the sale and a full list of the cars involved have not been released but rather than locate 69 separate well-heeled fans of F1, it seems likely that groups of cars could be sold together and move to other large collections.
‘Tom is handling the sale for me because he knows the cars better than anyone else, his business is best placed to sell them, and I am guaranteed transparency which is important to me,’ said Ecclestone, perhaps hinting at the scrutiny Tom Hartley might feel. Ecclestone, now 94, was such a successful car dealer in his own right by his mid-twenties he could buy new a 300SL Gullwing.
‘I feel very privileged that Bernie has entrusted the sale of his cars to my business,’ said Hartley. ‘There has never been a collection like this one offered for sale, and no one has a race car collection that comes close to Bernie’s. This collection is the history of Formula One.’
IN THE TRADE
ARTHUR MILLER’S LANDY
Despite being one of the 20th century’s greatest playwrights, Arthur Miller is remembered for his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe, which ended in 1961 around the time he bought this Land Rover. Bought direct from the Solihull factory, it lived at his estate in Connecticut where he used and maintained it until his death in 2005. Sent to auction by Miller’s family, Bonhams will offer this charming old workhorse with its unique ownership history at no reserve in its Scottsdale sale in Arizona on 24 January.
WALKINSHAW HOLDEN SS
The moulded plastic concealing this 1988 Holden Commodore VL also hides a race-tuned 5.0-litre GM V8, choked to 241bhp by a (removable) restrictor plate. As the first model to come out of TWR’s Holden Special Vehicles, it’s now as sought after Down Under as a Sierra Cosworth RS500 in the UK. One of 750, this example was offered by Webb’s of Auckland, New Zealand estimated at NZ $240k-$260k (£110k-£120k) as we went to press. Antipodean muscle is still shifting big numbers – at home, anyway.
CAR COLLECTION SHRINKS
Broad Arrow is selling off more than 100 of the Academy of Art University Collection’s car collection, at no reserve on 15 February. Stars include the unique Corsica-bodied 1937 Squire, pictured. The collection is a museum of notable classic cars established by the owner of a private art college in San Francisco. Since 2015, when Forbes estimated the collection’s value at $70m (£53m), a few cars have been sold, Broad Arrow’s sale accounting for more than half of what remains.
UPCOMING SALES
JANUARY
Sun 19-Mon 27, Arizona, USA. Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2025, Westworld of Scottsdale. barrett-jackson.com
Tue 7-Sun 19, Florida, USA. Mecum Kissimmee 2025, Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee. mecum.com
Fri 24, Arizona, USA. RM Sotheby’s Arionza 2025 sale, Biltmore Resort, Scottsdale. rmsothebys.com
Sat 25-Sun 26, Norfolk. ACA Classic cars auction, King’s Lynn. angliacarauctions.co.uk
FEBRUARY
Thu 27-Fri 28, Florida, USA. RM Sotheby’s Moda Miami, Coral Gables, Miami. rmsothebys.com
Sat 1, Stuttgart, Germany. RM Sotheby’s W196R: the Monza Streamliner. rmsothebys.com
Tues 4-Wed 5, Paris, France. RM Sotheby’s at Les Salles du Carrousel. rmsothebys.com
Wed 5-Fri 7, North Yorkshire. Mathewsons online sale, Thornton- Le-Dale. mathewsons.co.uk
Thu 6, Paris. Bonhams – The Grand Palais Historique. bonhamscars.com
Fri 7, France. Artcurial, Salon Rétromobile, Paris. artcurial.com
Wed 12, Derbyshire. H&H Classic Motorcars, Buxton. handh.co.uk
Sat 15-Sun 16, Cheshire. Manor Park Classics’ sale, Runcorn. manorparkclassics.com
Wed 19, Herefordshire. Brightwells’ Classic & Vintage, Easters Court, Leominster. brightwells.com
Thu 20 Herefordshire. Brightwells’ Modern Classics – Retro-Sect online. brightwells.com
Sat 22, Warwickshire. Iconic Auctioneers’ Race Retro Classic and Comp sale, NAEC, Stoneleigh. iconicauctioneers.com
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