Before Formula 1, the young Bernie Ecclestone carved out a lucrative career in the motor trade. And its clear that the lessons he learned early in his career have remained with him. In the intervening years, Britain's third-richest man -- and the overall boss of Formula 1 (despite having sold most of his stake to CVC Capital Partners) -- has amassed a collection of automobiles to delight and amaze.
Now the 76-year old is to sell a sizeable chunk of his collection at auction in London's Battersea Park on October 31st. The sale of 42 of Bernie's cars, to be held jointly by RM Auctions and Sotheby's, is expected to generate between $19,524,000 and $26,221,000.
The collection is entirely comprised of road cars, but there are cars from companies with an F1 heritage -- including Ferrari, BMW and a significant number of Mercedes Benzes. The auction's star turn is a stunning Mercedes Benz 540K Special Roadster which is expected to fetch between $6.5million and $8million. If it sells at the high estimate, it would make it the second most expensive car ever sold at auction (the most expensive being the 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe, sold at Christies in London for $8.7million in 1987). 
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