Anthony Hamilton, father of seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, has sold much of his classic car collection in an auction held last month at Silverstone. The sale featured 27 primarily British vehicles with a combined estimated value of around £3 million. Nineteen cars were sold for approximately £1.7 million, while eight remained unsold.

The collection, amassed over several decades, reflects Anthony Hamilton’s long-standing passion for motorsport, predating his son’s rise to global prominence. It included five classic Mini Coopers spanning six decades, five Triumph models, three Jaguar E-types, and three Aston Martins. Among the most notable sales was a 1994 Jaguar XJ220, which reached a hammer price of £506,250. This vehicle had clocked only 3,277 miles since its manufacture over 30 years ago. Other significant sales included a David Brown Automotive Speedback GT for £202,500, a 1967 Jaguar E-Type Series I 4.2-Litre Roadster for £119,250, and a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL that sold for £104,625.

The auction is viewed as part of Anthony Hamilton’s shift in focus towards his new project, HybridV10, an independent single-seater motorsport championship aimed at nurturing emerging talent. He mentioned that moving on from the car collection allowed him to dedicate more attention to this initiative, which he described as his “new focus and passion.”

Lewis Hamilton, who sold his own collection of multi-million-pound vehicles last year, has expressed a different motivation for liquidating his automobile assets. The Ferrari driver stated that he had shifted his interest toward art and no longer felt the same attachment to cars. When asked about potential future purchases, Lewis identified the Ferrari F40 as a desirable piece, appreciating it more as a work of art than a vehicle.

The Hamilton family’s automotive interests underscore a deep-rooted connection to motorsport. Anthony Hamilton notably recognized his son Lewis’s potential early on, gifting him a second-hand go-kart at the age of four, setting the foundation for what would become a record-breaking career in Formula One.