Bernie Ecclestone is selling his incredible F1 car collection

Former Formula 1 superstar Bernie Ecclestone is selling 69 of his racing cars from what is believed to be the most valuable Grand Prix and F1 collection in the world.

Ecclestone, 94, led Formula One for 30 years after selling his Brabham team to form the Formula One Group, although his leadership involvement in the sport spans more than four decades. His first involvement in the sport came in the 1950s with the Connaught team.

Ecclestone is using British-based performance car specialist Tom Hartley Jr. to sell his cars, which cover 70 years of Grand Prix racing, through a private contract rather than auction.

The sale includes a number of historically significant Ferraris, including the Alberto Ascari 375 that won the 1951 Italian Grand Prix, the Ferrari Thin Wall Special, the Dino that won the championship in 1958 and the first ever 312th championship cars built by the likes of Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda were also included in the sale.

Ecclestone retained ownership of a number of Brabham cars, which have rarely been seen since their last races. The collection also includes championship winners driven by Nelson Piquet and one used in testing by Ayrton Senna at the end of the 1983 Formula 1 season. This also includes the famous “fan car” BT46B – with which Niki Lauda won the Swedish Grand Prix by over half a minute – and was taken out of the race after the end of the race.

“I love all my cars but it’s time to think about what will happen to them when I’m no longer here and that’s why I’ve decided to sell them,” said Ecclestone. “After collecting and owning them for so long, I would like to know where they have gone and not leave them to my wife to take care of in case I am not there.

“Tom (Hartley Jnr) is handling the sale for me because he knows the cars better than anyone, his company is best placed to sell them and I am guaranteed transparency, which is important to me.

“Having collected the best and most original Formula 1 cars from the early days of the sport, I have now decided to take them to a new home that will treat them as I do and care for them like valuable works of art. ”

Other highlights include a factory Maserati 250F, the monstrous 16-cylinder Mark II BRM and the famous Vanwall VW10, which in the hands of Stirling Moss achieved several Grand Prix victories in the 1958 season and won the first ever Vanwall constructors’ championship.

Hartley has a private showroom in Leicestershire, UK, has a truly global reach and is the most active operator in significant private contract sales. His company operates in the top segment of the market and only delivers the best cars.

“I feel very privileged that Bernie has entrusted my company, Tom Hartley Jr., with the sale of his cars,” Hartley said. “No collection like this has ever been offered for sale and no one in the world has a race car collection that comes close to Bernie’s.

“This is a great opportunity for a discerning collector to acquire cars that have never been offered for sale before and it would be great to see them on the track again.”

“This collection is the history of Formula 1.”