Tom Hartley Jnr Ltd, one of the world’s most respected and exclusive high-end dealers in classic and historic sports cars and racing cars, has been selected by the Ojjeh family in respect of the sale of Mansour Ojjeh’s extraordinary collection of 20 McLaren road cars.
Fresh from selling Bernie Ecclestone’s collection of 69 historic Grand Prix and Formula 1 cars earlier this year, Tom Hartley Jnr has now been chosen to handle the sale of another unique collection compiled by another F1 icon.
Before his death in 2021, Mansour was a pivotal figure in the world of motorsport, most celebrated for his visionary role in transforming McLaren into one of F1’s most successful teams. Under his stewardship, the team secured seven Constructors’ and ten Drivers’ Championships, while also expanding beyond the racetrack. He was instrumental in launching McLaren Automotive and the McLaren Applied Technologies division, helping to cement the brand as a leader in innovation and engineering excellence.
When McLaren Automotive began producing road cars in earnest, Mansour turned his attention to building the ultimate McLaren road car collection. The legendary McLaren F1 is its ‘jewel in the crown’. The last of that model ever produced, it was finished in a unique colour named ‘Yquem’, after the esteemed and rare dessert wine. To reflect the significance of this vehicle, McLaren subsequently renamed the colour ‘Mansour Orange’, a custom hue used exclusively on his cars.
Mansour requested the final chassis number for each model, ensuring his cars incorporated all the technical updates made during the production cycle. The result is without equal. With the exception of the F1 (which has just 1,810km) and the P1 GTR (used occasionally during McLaren track days), every car remains unused, in factory-delivered condition, and maintained under direct instruction by McLaren themselves – a service no other collector has ever received.
The collection features a host of iconic McLaren models, including the Speedtail, P1, Senna, Elva, and Sabre – the latter being the last of only 16 examples ever produced – plus special and limited Longtail and Le Mans editions.
Kathy Ojjeh (widow of Mansour Ojjeh) said:
“McLaren meant so much to Mansour. It was more than business, it was pure passion and it was in that vein that he curated this unique collection of McLaren road cars. The ‘Last of Legends’ car collection is a treasure for our family – a reminder of the hours we witnessed Mansour designing each car to his specifications. He had an unusual talent for detail that stuns and impresses, a talent driven by the very passion he nurtured for so many years with McLaren.
“Parting with this very personal collection is not easy, but it is time for it to go to its new custodian, one who truly ‘gets it’ and will cherish owning and caring for it the way Mansour did.
“We are very grateful to Tom Hartley Jnr for providing us with the highly professional framework within to sell this collection, as we know Tom truly understands the collection’s intrinsic value and is also one whose passion for beautiful automobiles surpasses most.”
Tom Hartley Jnr said:
“I’m truly humbled that the Ojjeh family has entrusted my business with the sale of their incredible collection. I had the privilege of meeting Mansour on a few occasions, and his attention to detail and appreciation for the finer things in life are clearly reflected in the collection that remains today.
“Offering this collection for sale would be extraordinary in its own right, but the fact that it comes from the home of one of McLaren Automotive’s founding figures, a man so instrumental in McLaren’s Formula 1 success, makes it truly unrepeatable.
“Being entrusted with the sale of Mansour Ojjeh’s McLaren collection is akin to handling Enzo Ferrari’s Ferraris or Ferdinand Porsche’s Porsches. We’re talking about one of the founding figures behind McLaren Automotive, a man who, together with Ron Dennis, helped build McLaren into one of the most respected and successful teams in Formula 1 history.
“For me, the highlight of the collection is, of course, the F1. It’s widely regarded as the greatest road car ever built, and this particular example is the very last one produced. It has only just over 1,800km from new and comes directly from Mansour Ojjeh, who, alongside Bruce McLaren and Ron Dennis, was instrumental in shaping the history of the marque. I have no doubt this will fetch a world record price for the model when it’s sold.
“There are so many other remarkable cars in the collection, each one completely unique and the final example of its model ever built. One especially poignant example is the Elva, delivered after Mansour’s passing. In an extraordinary gesture of respect, McLaren replaced the manufacturer’s badges on the front and rear with Mansour’s own emblem — a tribute to one of their founders.
“This is the most significant McLaren road car collection ever assembled, and I sincerely hope it is acquired by a single buyer, just as the Ecclestone Grand Prix collection was which we sold earlier this year.”
Zak Brown (Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Racing) said:
“Mansour was a founding father of McLaren as we know it today. A massively passionate racer and automotive enthusiast and no bigger fan of McLaren. His collection is very special, I’m not aware of anything else that compares with it.”