Bernie Ecclestone’s huge racing-car collection is for sale

By Lizzie Pope

| 3 Dec 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Bernie Ecclestone’s huge racing-car collection is for sale

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s collection of classic racing cars could be the most important in the world – and now it is for sale.

It might also be one of the most valuable and the most revealing, given that some of the 69 cars gathered across the past 50 years completed their final races and went straight into his hoard, kept away from the public gaze.

All the cars are for sale now, via Tom Hartley Jnr, a dealer that’s certainly not unfamiliar with high-end historic racing cars.

Every model is being sold individually, which could see this set scattered across the globe. And the prices? Well, if you have to ask…

After half a century of collecting, Bernie Ecclestone is bidding farewell to his racing cars

Ecclestone’s decades as F1’s commercial rights holder are well documented and while he has definitely made a huge impact on the sport, so have the cars in his astonishing collection.

It spans 70 years of Grand Prix and F1 competition, and if you think of many big names and major manufacturers, they’re represented.

Racing cars driven by Mike Hawthorn, Stirling Moss, Niki Lauda, Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Jacky Ickx, Clay Regazzoni and Carlos Reutemann are all for sale.

All the cars from Bernie Ecclestone’s collection are being sold by Tom Hartley Jnr and listed as POA

When it comes to teams, Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Vanwall and BRM all form part of this collection, including an ex-works Maserati 250F, a 16-cylinder BRM and an ex-Moss Vanwall which helped the team to the first constructors’ championship in 1958.

There are, of course, a number of Brabhams, the team Ecclestone bought in 1972 and ran for 15 years, in which time it scored 22 wins and Piquet claimed the first two of his three drivers’ titles, in 1981 and ’83.

Some of the racing cars Piquet piloted en route to his championship crowns are for sale, as is the unique, Gordon Murray-designed Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46B ‘fan car’, raced just once – Lauda won 1978’s Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp by more than 30 secs in it, before the team withdrew the car from competition.

One collection: 69 cars, spanning 70 years of racing history, acquired across 50 years

Now at the age of 94, Ecclestone has decided to sell: “I have been collecting these cars for more than 50 years, and I have only ever bought the best of any example. Whilst many other collectors over the years have opted for sports cars, my passion has always been for Grand Prix and Formula One cars.

“A Grand Prix and in particular a Formula One car is far more important than any road car or other form of race car, as it is the pinnacle of the sport, and all the cars I have bought over the years have fantastic race histories and are rare works of art.

“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’s collection has long been hidden, but perhaps now the cars will be seen more by enthusiasts

He adds he hopes the next custodians of these racing cars will “treat them as I have and look after them as precious works of art” – many motorsport fans might hope they’re lovingly preserved, but also exhibited and shared with the world.

“I feel very privileged that Bernie has entrusted the sale of his cars to my Tom Hartley Jnr business,” added Tom Hartley Jnr.

“This is 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.”

Images: Tom Hartley Jnr Ltd

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