As motoring enthusiasts, we look forward to the changing of the clocks, for that signals if not Summer, at least Spring, which means Summer is right around that shellgripped corner.
Defining exactly what constitutes an enthusiast is difficult; is it the older gentleman that has owned his Jaguar MKII for the last forty years, and only uncovers it to polish it or take it to a show, or the younger lady that belongs to every car club related to her car and never leaves home without it?
Both of these are enthusiasts in their own way, but it takes more than that to get on this list – when we say epic collection, we mean E-P-I-C. Some of these collections are open to the public, some remain private.
Rodger Dudding
Forget the who for a moment, let’s look at the how
Rodger Dudding owns one of the biggest (if not the biggest) private collections in the UK – estimated to be worth in the region of £40 million. With over 350 vehicles, ranging from vintage cars through to unique motorbikes, Rodger has amassed all of this since becoming hooked on cars when his father brought a Morris Minor, back in 1952. (Rodger still owns that old ‘Moggy’)
There’s even collections within the collection; 24 Aston Martin Lagonda’s for example. And then we have rarity value – an Austin 7 ‘White Rabbit’ racer, or Jaguar SS Drophead, Rodger has them all. There’s just one minor drawback though – he has to spend a further £7 million on his garage to house them all.
The Sultan of Brunei
Of course we had to include the Sultan of Brunei here, his collection is perhaps the most famous/valuable/largest in the world, valued around $350,000,000. (Can you imagine the car maintenance costs?)
One vehicle alone is said to be worth $14 million, a Rolls-Royce Silver Spur limo, decked out in 24k gold. Fancy something a little sportier? How about one of eight McLaren F1’s, or a Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR? Whatever takes your fancy, there’s a chance that you’ll find a version of it in this garage – the collection is that large that no one really has an official number for it – they say it’s between 3,000 and 6,000 vehicles.
Nick Mason
A true petrolhead that loves his cars, racing and going fast. Nick Mason is the car collector that we all wish we could be. His Ferrari 250 GTO (said to be worth around £30 million) still gets raced every year, and it wasn’t that long ago that it was being used on the road!
While he doesn’t consider the value of the cars or collection, occasionally he has a sensible moment – he sold his 50’s BRM V16 F1 car after calculating that it would have been cheaper to lay Wilton carpet down for the total mileage the car drove than actually drive the car. And getting those tyres for vintage cars is becoming increasingly difficult, not to mention the expense.
Bernie Ecclestone
It’s true that Big Bernie sold off a great deal of his collection some years ago, so you’d have to ask what he kept - the exotica that was sold off was pretty spectacular.
His collection mainly centres on the Brabham F1 cars, including the legendary ‘Fan Car’ – the Brabham BT46B which made its debut in 1978 at the Swedish Grand Prix. It only competed at that one race – Brabham pulled it for the rest of the season, despite having the official OK from the powers that be.
The last time that the collection was seen in public was in 2009, a special favour to the Crown Prince of Bahrain as they were setting up the F1 race.
Car Collectors – A Special Breed
Having a car collection doesn’t have to involve millions of pounds, it could simply be a few old Morris Marina’s, the odd TVR or two, but one thing all of these collectors have in common is the passion for all things motoring related.
Of course there are a number of UK automotive museums that will accept your money for a day drooling over their cars, but these collections are different – these are purely about the love of cars and what they represent. Sure, one or two collectors take pride in the fact that their collection is worth millions, but others, like Nick Mason, do it for the love, the recognition of automotive artwork and something with a built-in adrenaline kick.