- Bernie Ecclestone is selling 69 cars from his collection of grand prix and F1 race cars
- Ecclestone has been amassing the collection for more than 50 years
- Included in the sale is the original Brabham BT46B “fan car,” of which only one exists
There are few people as inextricably linked with Formula 1 as Bernie Ecclestone, so it should come as little surprise that he has an impressive collection of race cars from the sport.
Ecclestone, 94, is now parting ways with many of them—a total of 69 cars—which will be sold via U.K. exotic car specialist Tom Hartley Jr. Many of them have been locked away for decades, as Ecclestone rarely showed them to the public, if at all.
Ecclestone was involved in F1 starting in the 1950s, initially with the Connaught team and later with Brabham, which he bought and ran in the 1970s. However, he’s most widely recognized for founding the Formula One Group in 1987, the group of companies that promotes F1 around the globe and controls its commercial rights. Ecclestone finally ceded control of the group in 2017 to its current owner, Liberty Media.
Ecclestone has been amassing his collection for more than 50 years. He was adding to it as recently as 2018, at least according to public records, when he paid $5 million for a 1993 McLaren MP4/8A F1 race car piloted by Ayrton Senna.
Bernie Ecclestone’s collection of historic grand prix and Formula 1 race cars
That car isn’t one of the 69 cars offered up for sale, though there are plenty of other highlights available. These include Michael Schumacher’s championship-winning Ferrari F2002 from the 2002 F1 season, as well as older successful Ferrari race cars like the 312B3, 246, and the 375 driven by Alberto Ascari to victory in the 1951 Italian Grand Prix.
Outside of Ferrari, highlights include a Vanwall VW10 driven to multiple wins by Stirling Moss in 1958, and multiple Brabhams, including the one-and-only BT46B “fan car,” which was designed by Gordon Murray and piloted by Niki Lauda to victory at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix before it was banned.
Bernie Ecclestone’s collection of historic grand prix and Formula 1 race cars
In a statement, Ecclestone said he always preferred to collect grand prix cars, particularly F1 cars, over road cars, as his passion has always been about racing. He also said he now wants to part with them while he is still alive, as he would like to know where they end up, and not leave their sale as a burden for his family after he’s gone.
“A Grand Prix and, in particular, a Formula 1 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,” he said.
