Bernie Ecclestone to sell historic F1 car collection worth millions [VIDEO]

A collection of rare Grand Prix cars belonging to former Formula 1(F1) boss Bernie Ecclestone has gone up for sale in the UK.

The iconic F1 cars, available for individual purchase, are said to be worth at least £100 million.

Over a 70-year career in motorsport, Ecclestone, known as the Godfather of Formula 1, built an original collection of F1 and Grand Prix cars.

Known as the Godfather of Formula 1, Ecclestone built an original collection of F1 and Grand Prix cars during his 70-year motorsport career.

Watch a video of the F1 cars being sold

Car collection

Ecclestone is selling about 69 cars including world championship winners, the infamous Brabham BT46B fan car and Michael Schumacher’s 2002 championship-winning Ferrari.

The one-off and controversial Brabham BT46B ‘fan car’, named after the huge downforce-generating fan in the back, was raced to victory by Niki Lauda in Sweden in 1978 before it was withdrawn.

“I have been collecting these cars for more than 50 years, and I have only ever bought the best of any example,” Ecclestone said in a statement.

“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.”

ALSO READ: Wakanda vs Kyalami: The battle to host F1 Grand Prix hits high revs

Ferrari’s

Within the Ferraris there is the Alberto Ascari Italian Grand Prix winning 375 F1, the Ferrari Thin Wall Special, which was the first Ferrari to beat Alfa Romeo, the very first 312 F1, which is a multiple Grand Prix winning car and considered by Ferrari to be the most original surviving Formula 1 car of that era.

Ecclestone’s Brabhams have barely ever been seen as he has retained ownership of them since their final races. Included within the collection are championship-winning cars from Nelson Piquet, one of which was used for testing with Ayrton Senna at the end of the 1983 Formula 1 season.

Other highlights within the collection include an ex-Works Maserati 250F, the monstrous 16-cylinder Mark II BRM and the famed Vanwall VW10, which in the hands of Stirling Moss achieved multiple Grand Prix victories in the 1958 Formula 1 Championship season and clinched the first-ever Constructors’ Championship for Vanwall.

Tom Hartley Jnr

The collection will be sold through classic and historic sports and race car dealer Tom Hartley Jnr rather than at auction.

Hartley said it was the most important collection of race cars in the world.

“I feel very privileged that Bernie has entrusted the sale of his cars to my Tom Hartley Jnr business. Formula 1 cars are cars that I know particularly well, they are not just cars that I have a great personal interest in, but we at Tom Hartley Jnr actively buy and sell them, too.

“However, there has never been a collection like this one offered for sale, and no one in the world has a race car collection that comes close to Bernie’s. This a great opportunity for a discerning collector to acquire cars that have never before been offered for sale, and it would be great to see them back on the track again,” Hartley Jnr said on his website.

Ecclestone the racer

Ecclestone tried his hand at racing in the 1950s and then managed drivers including Austrian Jochen Rindt, who became the first and only driver to win the championship posthumously in 1970.

The Godfather of F1 became a billionaire after taking over the commercial side of the high-octane sport in the 1980s.

ALSO READ: F1 is coming home: SA likely to host Grand Prix at Kyalami by 2027