Tom Hartley Jnr appointed for sale of Ecclestone’s historic Grand Prix and F1 cars

Tom Hartley Jnr, a UK-based dealer in classic and historic sports and racing cars, has been appointed to oversee the sale of Bernie Ecclestone’s collection of 69 Grand Prix and Formula One cars.

“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,” said 94-year-old Ecclestone.

“After collecting and owning them for so long I would like to know where they have gone and not leave them for my wife to deal with should I not be around.

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

“Having collected what are the best and most original Formula One cars dating to the start of the sport, I have now decided to move them on to new homes that will treat them as I have and look after them as precious works of art.”

Ecclestone, who previously held the commercial rights to Formula One, amassed the collection over several decades. The group includes notable vehicles such as Ferraris driven by world champions Mike Hawthorn, Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher.

Other highlights include a brace of Brabhams raced by aces such as Nelson Piquet, Carlos Pace and, again, Niki Lauda. One of these includes the infamous Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46B “fan car”, which raced only once, victoriously, to win the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp in 1978 by more than half a minute.

Many of these cars have been kept out of public view for decades, with some not seen since their acquisition by Ecclestone. The collection is regarded as one of the most significant in Formula One history to be offered for sale.

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

“Formula One cars are cars I know particularly well. They are not just cars I have a great personal interest in, but we at Tom Hartley Jnr also buy and sell them.

“However, there has never been a collection like this one 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 before been offered for sale and it would be great to see them back on the track again.”