We told you a few days ago about an incredible Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 car dating from 1954 which will soon be auctioned by RM Sotheby's and which is estimated at more than 50 million euros ($74 million Canadian). However, this is nothing compared to the personal collection of former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, which remained largely secret for decades but is now up for sale.
Each of the 69 Grand Prix and F1 cars that make it up is a jewel and a piece of motorsport history, so much so that the whole thing could easily be worth more than $100 million Canadian.
The number includes around thirty Brabham cars (Ecclestone owned the Brabham team from 1972 to 1988), including at least one of each edition that was built, including the BT46B with rear fan that Niki Lauda drove to win. the Swedish Grand Prix in 1978.
Photo: Tom Hartley Jnr
Naturally, several Ferraris are also part of the collection – 17 to be exact. One of them is a 375 driven by Alberto Ascari and freshly restored during a two-year process. It is the very first Scuderia car to win an F1 race. Champion Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F2002 is another.
“I've been collecting these cars for over 50 years and have only bought the best examples,” says Ecclestone, now 94. While many other collectors have opted for sports cars over the years, my passion has always been for Grand Prix and Formula 1 cars. A Grand Prix, and in particular a Formula 1 car, is much bigger than 'a road car or some other form of racing car, as this is the pinnacle of the sport, and all the cars I have purchased over the years have a fantastic racing history and are rare works of art.”
Photo: Tom Hartley Jnr
The controversial tsar said he was putting his cars up for sale so that they would not become a burden for his wife if he were to die soon and suddenly, but also to know their fate.
Details of the sale, including its date and the estimated value of the collection, remain unknown at this time. It is the British specialist Tom Hartley Jnr who takes care of it.
