Over the past twelve months, we have had the privilege of being entrusted with some of the most important automobiles and collections in the world. Most notably, we were honoured to handle the Bernie Ecclestone Grand Prix Collection, an unparalleled assembly of historically significant Grand Prix cars and the largest transaction ever concluded in the collector car world.
This was followed by the exceptional Mansour Ojjeh Collection, a McLaren-focused collection that represented decades of passion, provenance, and connoisseurship at the very highest level.
Other highlights throughout the year included the sale of a number of very special Formula One cars, among them the Monaco Grand Prix-winning McLaren MP4/4, as well as the very first McLaren MP4/22, the car in which Sir Lewis Hamilton claimed his first two pole positions and Grand Prix victories. In addition to the McLaren F1 road car from the Ojjeh Collection, the final example ever produced, we were also proud to sell another example of what many believe to be the greatest road car ever built. That particular car, chassis 040, was the first McLaren F1 constructed with the distinctive high wing mirrors, and I am delighted with the home it has found.
The year also saw us handle the Ferrari 250 LM, chassis 6053, fresh from being awarded the prestigious Peninsula Classics Best of the Best accolade, alongside a whole host of modern supercars. These included the very first Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 to be offered for sale, another Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione — meaning we have now sold two of the five examples ever produced — and just about every other landmark supercar one could imagine.
Towards the end of the year, we were humbled to receive several awards from within our industry, including Specialist of the Year and an Outstanding Achievement Award. These honours are greatly appreciated and will be very much cherished.
None of this would have been possible without the continued support of our valued clients and the organisations we have the pleasure of working with. For that, I would like to personally thank you all.
As we look ahead to the year ahead, we have an extraordinary inventory of cars—many of them true “pinch yourself” moments to handle—as well as a number of very special opportunities that we look forward to sharing with you in due course. Most exciting of all will be the opening of our new showroom this coming spring, a project that has consumed a great deal of my time over the past few years and one I very much look forward to finally completing and welcoming you all to.
Tom Hartley Jnr