Motor Sport collection: Join in the celebrations
Fans of motor racing art, artefacts and ephemera will find a huge range, including these collectibles, at the Motor Sport shop – motorsportmagazine.com/shop
100 Years of Motor Sport 2024 Calendar
Everybody earns the chance to blow their own trumpet once in a while. And what better occasion to shout about than, well, 100 years of us! That’s right, Motor Sport celebrates its centenary in 2024, with our first-ever edition – then known as The Brooklands Gazette – published in July 1924. Safe to say we’ve come a long way since, but the same spirit of seeking out the best stories from around the sport to share with our readers has never changed. Why not join us in making it a year of Motor Sport with our superb 2024 calendar, giving you that hit of your favourite motoring monthly every day.
It’s a mammoth A2-sized production that features stunning imagery of the legends that helped make the sport. Each month is given over to a hero of a certain decade, from Alberto Ascari and Stirling Moss to more modern stars like Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton. Order now while stocks last. £32.99
Guenther Steiner signed poster
Like it or loathe it, Netflix’s Drive to Survive proved the perfect platform for Guenther Steiner to emerge as one of the most popular and relatable team managers of our time. In a world of robotic frontmen, Steiner’s no-nonsense (and often sweary) approach garnered him a cult following. Automobilist has therefore produced this brilliant tongue-in-cheek poster tribute on matte textured, premium heavyweight paper, signed by the man himself and boasting the slogan: “We look like a bunch of legends”. Yep, he definitely said “legends”, didn’t he? £142
Driven to Crime book
If you want a racing book with a twist, look no further than Crispian Besley’s Driven to Crime. We all know motor racing is a costly and egotistical sport, and some go to extreme lengths to succeed. The product of years of research, the book tells over 60 stories of individuals who drifted to the wrong side of the law to fund their racing activities – from drug trafficking to robbery, embezzlement and even murder. It’s a hard one to put down. Winner, RAC Motoring Book of the Year. From £40
Jenson Button signed helmet
It’s been almost 15 years since Jenson Button and Brawn pulled off arguably the biggest shock in GP history by winning the 2009 F1 title. The team was in ruins before Ross Brawn begged and borrowed his way to funding it, with Button making the most of the BGP 001 (developed by Honda before it pulled the plug) to scoop the drivers’ and constructors’ titles. This full-size official replica of Button’s lid is produced by Bell and signed by the man himself. £2495
Martin Allen Porsche prints
Automotive artist Martin Allen has excelled himself with two wonderful Porsche paintings. Featuring an abstract style with the car blended against those famous Martini stripes, they really leap off the wall at you. Subjects are the 935 ‘Whaletail’, left, and 936 Le Mans winner. Prints are A2-sized – but the original artworks are also available from the artist, created using oils on linen. Prints £180
About the motor sport shop
With hundreds of special and unique racing-themed products, and many new items regularly added, the Motor Sport shop is aimed at both serious and casual collectors with a wide range of prices to suit your budget. Visit motorsportmagazine.com/shop
The expert
Beware the hidden fees
Every now and then it’s nice to hand out some advice, and the rise in popularity of online public auctions makes this column timely. Across recent months there have been high-profile sales linked to F1 celebrities such as Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell. These are online and anyone can register to bid from the comfort of their own home. And there’s a common theme with these sales: sky-high prices. Perhaps it’s the anonymity of online bidding, or the fact anybody can chip in to inflate the prices, but these are certainly not the cheapest ways to buy.
In these Formula 1 sales at least three ex-Schumacher helmets sold for in excess of £100,000. This is where buyers can get caught out if they don’t know how this sort of auction works. Events like this have huge overheads, with vast amounts of work being done by the top auction houses to research, verify and authenticate each item to go up for sale. So these businesses have to make money somewhere, and it’s more often than not through buyers’ and sellers’ commissions.
Let’s take one of those £100k lids as an example. Quite often an auction house will charge a fee to the seller, let’s say 10% on the hammer price, so the seller gets £90k of that item price. But the buyer might be charged 20% in commission, meaning that helmet they signed up to buy for £100k will now cost £120k. And the area between those two charges is where the auction houses make their living; if you’re in the UK, there will be VAT on that! Don’t begrudge the auction houses or any auction platform for making a margin. They create the platform, often have a black book of contacts and handle the logistics – and thus achieve the world record prices we all get to hear about.
Charges can quickly add up for buyers who are not in the know. So before bidding check and read the T&Cs carefully for premiums, and even the window you have available to make payment. Some auction houses will pre-scan your credit card up to £5000, so if you register a winning bid, the cash gets debited immediately – no time for buyer’s remorse there!
Andrew Francis is director at The Signature Store, thesignaturestore.co.uk