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The godfather of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone, is selling his extraordinary collection of historic Grand Prix and Formula 1 cars estimated to be worth £300m.
Ecclestone said he is getting rid of his collection because, at the age of 94, “the time has come” to “start thinking about what will happen to them if I know I won’t be here anymore.”
He said, “I don’t want to let my wife take care of them if I’m not around.”
One car collector’s morbidity is another car collector’s hallelujah, and Ecclestone tidying up his very shiny, very rare, very expensive ducks means the racing world will finally have access to what has been described as “the most important collection of racing cars in the world”. .
The sale, which comes a year after the ‘F1 Supreme’ was ordered to pay a record £652m tax bill over 18 years, represents ’70 years of Formula 1 Grand Prix and racing’.
But among the unique and legendary vehicles driven by Mike Hawthorn, Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher, which World Championship-winning cars are the most coveted? Here are our picks:
The godfather of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone, is selling his extraordinary collection of historic Grand Prix and Formula 1 cars estimated to be worth £300m, but which cars are the most coveted? We picked five that have an added wow factor.
Hawthorn driving the Ferrari Dino 246 at the Monaco Grand Prix on 18 May 1958 (photo may not be the exact chassis sold by the Ecclestone Collection)
The battle between Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss for the 1958 drivers’ title was seen as the closest title duel in F1 history up to that point.
1. Ferrari Dino 246 F1 from 1957
Not only is this car a multiple Grand Prix winner that also took seven pole positions, but it also won the 1958 F1 World Championship in the hands of Mike Hawthorn.
The British driver took the ’58 Championship, despite winning just one race, before tragically dying in January 1959, just three months after announcing his retirement when his Jaguar lost control on the A3 Guildford bypass.
It was the first F1 car to use a V6 engine and was also the last front-engined car to win an F1 Grand Prix.
Also driven by Phil Hill, Wolfgang Von Trips, Tony Brooks and Richie Ginther, the car is in incredible original condition with classic Ferrari ‘Red Book’ certification confirming it retains the chassis, body, engine and gearbox. original changes.
It has been in the Ecclestone Grand Prix collection for almost three decades.
The first Ferrari to beat Alfa Romeo, the ‘Thin Wall Special’ (left), was campaigned in its Vandervell ‘Thin Wall Special’ specification in 1951 and 1952, and was driven by the likes of Reg Parnell, Peter Whitehead and José Froilán González .
2. 1949 Ferrari Thin-Walled Special
The first Ferrari to beat Alfa Romeo, the ‘Thin Wall Special’ is a historically significant car that played an integral role in the development and creation of racing enthusiast Tony Vandervell’s F1 team, Vanwall.
Vandervell, of the Vandervell Thin Wall bearing company that created three Thinwall Specials (as the Ferraris were called), purchased the Ferrari factory car from Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi at the factory in 1950.
He then campaigned his Vandervell ‘Thin Wall Special’ specification in 1951 and 1952, driven by the likes of Reg Parnell, Peter Whitehead and José Froilán González.
In addition to defeating Alfa at Silverstone, driven by Reg Parnell he achieved numerous other victories and podiums.
It was retained by Tony Vandervell after the races and has since been owned by Tom Wheatcroft’s Donington Collection before joining Ecclestone’s collection in 1996.
Niki Lauda’s 1975 World Championship winning car also won him the 1975 French Grand Prix (photo may not be the exact chassis sold by Ecclestone Collection)
The hit movie Rush depicted the famous 1970s rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt.
3. Ferrari 312 T from 1975
Niki Lauda’s car that won the 1975 World Championship also won him the 1975 French Grand Prix.
It was also the first Ferrari to win the world championship since 1964 and is one of only three Ferraris in existence and winners of the Niki Lauda championship – a golden egg for racing car collectors.
An iconic piece of racing history, it has been impeccably and precisely restored by the brand’s specialists. Following the restoration competition, it won its category at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Ecclestone bought the car recently, in 2019, after many years of searching for the right Lauda-Ferrari to win the Grand Prix.
The most notable Brabham is the 1978 BT46B ‘Fan Car’. Driven by Niki Lauda to victory at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, where he won the race by over half a minute, it was Brabham’s most iconic and famous car, and featured a revolutionary fan design by the now legendary Gordon Murray (photo may not be exact chassis sold by Ecclestone Collection)
4. 1978 Brabham BT46B ‘Fan Car’
Away from Ferraris and towards Brabhams.
Ecclestone bought Brabham in 1972 and spent 15 years at the helm.
Tom Hartley Jnr, whose luxury dealership is handling the sale of Ecclestone, said: “Because Bernie has retained ownership of the Brabhams since they were new, and many of those cars haven’t been seen for decades, people can forget how special this model is. Brabham team was.
“Brabham scored 22 Formula 1 Grand Prix wins, 24 Formula 1 Grand Prix pole positions, 25 Formula 1 Grand Prix fastest laps and two Formula 1 World Championships under Bernie’s watch.”
However, the most notable Brabham is the 1978 BT46B ‘Fan Car’.
Driven by Niki Lauda to victory at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, where he won the race by over half a minute.
Brabham’s most iconic and famous car, the BT46B, featured a revolutionary design by Gordon Murray (who was given his first job by Ecclestone) and would have changed the direction of F1 had he not retired from racing if race policy F1 wouldn’t have stood in the way.
It retired with a 100 per cent winning record, the only car to do so in F1 history.
Never before offered for sale, the complete car has been kept running ever since and is something of a unicorn.
5. Maserati 4CLT/48 from 1949
Only 19 Maserati 4CLT/48s were produced, and Monegasque driver Louis Chiron took delivery of one in which he became Monaco’s first F1 driver.
Chiron raced the 4CLT/48 in the first race of the F1 World Championship, the 1950 British Grand Prix, and achieved a podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix that same year (photo may not be the exact chassis sold by Ecclestone Collection)
This Maserati, one of only 19 examples ever produced, was delivered new to Louis Chiron, the man considered one of the greatest racing drivers of the pre-war era and Monaco’s first F1 driver.
Winning 21 Grand Prix before winning the World Championship in 1950, Chiron raced the 4CLT/48 in the first race of the F1 World Championship (the 1950 British Grand Prix) and achieved a podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. that same year. This was the only points finish in Chiron’s F1 career.
It took part in six F1 World Championship Grands Prix, with two top 10 finishes, and has remained in the Ecclestone Grand Prix collection for almost 30 years.
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