Bernie Ecclestone car collection sold

Tom Hartley Jnr Ltd, a respected dealer in high-end historic cars, has brokered one of the biggest sales of all time, selling the 69-car collection of Bernie Ecclestone. The former F1 Chief Executive announced last December that he wanted to part with his collection, entrusting Tom Hartley Jnr with the sale that was finalised in March.

Made up entirely of historic Grand Prix and Formula 1 cars, Ecclestone’s collection has been valued at more than AU$1 billion.

“This is quite simply the most important race car collection in the world. There has never been and probably never will be a collection like it ever offered for sale again,” Hartley Jnr said.

Ferraris feature heavily in the collection, including championship-winning cars driven by Alberto Ascari, Mike Hawthorn, Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher. Ecclestone’s 17 years heading the Brabham F1 team is reflected in cars that include the sole-surviving BT44B and the 1978 BT46B ‘fan car’ that raced only once.

GP cars in the collection include a Bugatti Type 54, a Mercedes-Benz W125 driven by Rudolf Caracciola and a Maserati 4CLT/48, while early F1 cars include a BRM P30 V16 and a Connaught B-type.

“I have been collecting these cars for more than 50 years, and I have only ever bought the best of any example,” Ecclestone said ahead of the sale. “My passion has always been Grand Prix and Formula 1 cars. A Grand Prix, and in particular a Formula 1, car is far more important than any road car or other race car, as it is the pinnacle of the sport. All the cars I have bought over the years have fantastic race histories and are rare works of art.”

According to Hartley Jnr, interest ranged from specific cars to the whole collection and came from individuals and sovereign wealth funds. Ultimately, the entire collection was sold to Mark Mateschitz, the billionaire son of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz.

The sale price has not been disclosed, but Hartley Jnr has called it “the largest single transaction ever concluded in the car collecting world”. While the collection remained behind closed doors under Ecclestone’s ownership, Mateschitz has indicated he will make the cars accessible to the public.