30 August, 2017
It’ll come as no surprise that being a collector of vintage motors is no cheap hobby. And if you’re really committed – like avid enthusiast Rodger Dudding – you can expect to shell out millions… just on a place to store them.
Britain’s biggest collector of classic cars owns 350 vehicles worth a jaw-dropping £40 million.
Dudding, a 79-year-old from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, is now evolving his one-storey garage into a five-floor mega-studio, costing him a staggering £7 million.
The new complex includes round-the-clock security, a state-of-the art sprinkler system and two purpose-built vehicle elevation systems.
A mammoth collection
Aston Martin only ever made 654 Lagondas, and 24 of them are included in Rodger’s varied and rare assembly.
The oldest motor in the retro squad is a 1911 Vulcan tourer.
And cars aren’t the only rarities in the collection. Featuring in the line-up is the only Bentley motorbike in the world.
“This is the only two-wheel vehicle in the world permitted to be badged Bentley,” says Dudding to the Daily Mail newspaper. “So, it is bit of an unusual one…you have to be bonkers enough to buy these things. To me it is just history.”
Passion vs investment
As the mastermind behind the “take a ticket” queuing system used in supermarkets, the multi-millionaire magnate needs somewhere to invest his money.
However, his appetite for classic cars is more than just cash, and it’s his admiration of his father’s 1952 Morris Minor that started the whole collection.
“If people ask me my most valuable car then I would have to say my late father's 1952 Morris Minor,” he says. “It is totally and absolutely an original.”
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