“I was a reasonably successful used car dealer,” says former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone of his life before motor racing. Now his unrivalled collection of the greatest used cars in the world is for sale, one by one. Supercar specialist Tom Hartley Jnr has been entrusted to sell Ecclestone’s 69 stellar Formula One cars. Some Haven't been seen in decades. Hartley, to whom a million pound price tag is just everyday business, calls it ”the most important racing car collection in the world”.

Ecclestone’s collection is jaw-dropping, representing 70 years of Grand Prix racing. There’s every single winning Brabham from Bernie's time running the team, scoring 22 wins and two world championships. Many haven’t been seen in decades, and include the unique 1978 Brabham BT46B “Fan Car”, with a huge fan to the rear sucking the Brabham to the track. A visionary design by Gordon Murray, the BT46B ran once - and won - at the hands of Niki Lauda, causing so much controversy it never raced again.


Core of the collection is what Hartley calls "the best collection of Ferrari racing cars in the world”. Some were driven by Lauda, a driver Ecclestone had a close relationship with. Lauda’s 1975 Ferrari 312T brought the driver’s world championship to Maranello for the first time since 1964. The Ferrari is one of just three championship-winning Niki Lauda Ferraris, restored to prize-winning condition, as honoured at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.


The Bernie Ecclestone Collection: One of a kind
Ecclestone got on very well with Enzo Ferrari. He said, in typically gnomic fashion: “We never had an argument because he didn’t speak any English and I didn’t speak any Italian.” Bernie's personal pick from his collection is a 1951 Ferrari 375. It was powered by a 4.5 litre V12 and driven to victory at Monza by Alberto Ascari. The 375 was the first Ferrari to win a Grand Prix and has had a meticulous two-year restoration by Ferrari themselves.

There is more, much more. A 1957 Vanwall helped win the first Formula One constructors’ title with Stirling Moss as star driver. Perhaps the first truly great British grand prix car. BRM’s 1954 V16 is an example of engineering that’s too complicated for its own good. But you’d buy it for the noise once started up. Perhaps you’d like a competitor from the very first Formula One race? That’ll be the 1949 Maserati 4CLT/48 campaigned at Silverstone by Louis Chiron, who had just taken delivery of his new ride.

"There has never been and probably never will be a collection like this ever offered for sale again,” says Hartley. There will be no headline grabbing auction of The Bernie Ecclestone Collection. Instead each Formula One car is being sold by individual private treaty. Make a bid and negotiations start. No-one will know the final price. But if you do get the Brabham BT46B Fan Car for £50, do let us know.
Next up: The cheapest Ferrari cars in 2025.