Entire Bernie Ecclestone Grand Prix Collection sells to one buyer

Largest single transaction ever to take place in the collector car world

Bernie Ecclestone’s entire 69-car collection has been swooped up only a few months after going on sale in an astonishing purchase that has smashed previous multiple car sales records.

The collection did not go to auction, with the seller Tom Hartley Jr deciding that “using traditional means would have meant a great deal of uncertainty” for a sale of this magnitude. While the sale itself only took a few months, it has been in the planning for several years.

The 94 year old’s assortment of cars spanned 70 years of Grand Prix and Formula 1 and included Championship-winning Ferraris driven by Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda and Mike Hawthorn, as well as Bernie’s own Brabhams, Maserati 250F, 16-cylinder Mark II BRM, and Vanwall VW10.

Following its launch in December, the collection attracted interest from all over the world, with offers being received from numerous Sovereign Wealth Funds. In the end, the billionaire son of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz came forward to buy the whole lot, promising to keep the collection together and allow it to be viewed by the public.

Although the final sale figure has not been disclosed, seller Tom Hartley Jr says it ”surpasses all previous record sales by several multiples”. The collection was reportedly valued at around £500m.

words: Mike Booth
pictures: Tom Hartley Jr