Next month RM Auctions will have the pleasure of offering a rather unique collection of classic racecars and other antique exotic cars. The collection is owned by Lord Irvine Laidlaw and is expected to fetch well north of $23 million dollars. The 70 year old Laidlaw has been collecting and meticulously maintaining this lot for a very long time and it will serve as a treat for even onlookers.  The Laidlaw Competition Car Collection will change hands for an extraordinary sum at RM Auction house in London next month.  

The cars:

• The star of the collection is a 1955 Jaguar D-Type (Chassis no. XKD504). It was driven by Hamilton, Frere and Sutcliffe. This ex-Works Jag is expected to nab $8 million plus on its own.
• A 1958 Maserati 250S (Chassis no. 2432). This is a former Carroll Shelby and Jim Hall car and the only built with a 2.5-liter engine.
• A rare 1960 Tipo 61 ‘Birdcage’ (Chassis no. 2464). This is an ex-Scuderia Camoradi car and the likes of Masten Gregory and Gino Munaron have gripped its wheel on the glorious Nurburgring.
• A 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Berlinetta Competizione (Chassis no. 09027). This one finished 10^th at Le Mans in 1966 and won the Mont Ventoux Hillclimb the same year.
• A 1965 Porsche 904/6 (Chassis no. 906-012). This one placed 6^th at a 1000 km Nurburgring race.
• Finishing off this impressive and historic collection is a 1970 Chevron B16 (Chassis no. DBE-B16-4) and a 1971 Chevron B19 (Chassis no. B19-71-3). Both cars competed in endurance races including the Daytona 24 Hour Race.

Laidlaw is among Europe’s wealthiest men. He has deep knowledge of automobiles and is also a philanthropist. 

Peter Wallman of RM Auctions stated the following about the collection: “This is unquestionably the finest single-owner collection of 1950s and 1960s competition cars to have ever been offered at public auction. We are honored that Lord Irvine Laidlaw has entrusted his immaculately prepared and highly competitive collection to us, and we are delighted to present the cars at our London sale this September. With such fabulous cars on offer and along with our partnership with St. James’s Concours of Elegance, visitors from around the world will be able to enjoy a truly exciting and petrol-fuelled week in London.”

Irvine Laidlaw humbly replied as follows: “I don’t regard myself as a collector. I am a car enthusiast and as an enthusiast I want to exercise my cars regularly, rather than gloat over them in the garage. So I have decided to sell the remaining competition cars and have consigned them to RM for auction as these are international cars, and RM is able to access buyers from all over the world. Having both bought and sold cars through their auctions in the past, I know that they present cars beautifully, while researching and reporting on history correctly. You know what you are getting when buying from RM.”

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