Bernie Ecclestone holds £10m garage sale

With the Formula One motor racing season wrapped up for another year, Bernie Ecclestone is turning his hand to those odd jobs around the house. Such as clearing out the garage. Most of us aspire to do it now and again. The difference is that Ecclestone will this week make up to £10m he probably does not need by selling 43 cars he has never driven.

Bernie Ecclestone,

Bernie Ecclestone

the motor sport supremo is auctioning most of the classic cars he has collected as a hobby over the past half-century. He bought them because he liked their look and, like fine wines, thought they would be a vintage investment. They range from a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Roadster, expected to raise up to £4m, to a Mini similar to the ones used in Michael Caine’s 1969 film The Italian Job. It will be a snip at little more than £10,000.

According to Ecclestone, he is “refining" his collection. Those in the know say he is negotiating a shrewd maneuver to avoid any crash in the cars’ value if there is to be long-term financial slump.

Ecclestone is valued at £2.25 billion in The Sunday Times Rich List. But he is also at an age – he celebrates his 77th birthday today – where he may be thinking of ensuring there is enough ready cash available to his wife Slavica, a 6ft 2in Croatian-born former Armani model 28 years his junior, and their two daughters, Tamara and Petra. More at The Times Online