Shropshire Star

Classic Grand Prix-winning Formula 1 car could fetch £1 million at auction

Recently restored 1979 Williams FW07 piloted to victory at the Dutch Grand Prix by Alan Jones heads to auction with a £600,000 starting price

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(Race Cars Direct)

Fancy owning a piece of Formula One history? Now could be your chance to buy a Grand Prix winner – if you have a spare £1 million to hand.

Up for auction is this 1979 Williams FW07, which won the Dutch Grand Prix that year in the hands of Australian driver Alan Jones – who went on to win the championship in 1980.

This example, chassis FW07/01, entered eight races over the course of the 1979 Formula One season, claiming two podiums alongside its sole victory. The car also retired while leading the Belgian and British Grand Prix.

Williams FW07/01
(Race Cars Direct)

Between 2013 and 2014, the car underwent a full ground-up restoration by John Cadd of JC Historics – who put in more than 1,000 hours of work to restore it as close to its original specification as possible. Cadd had also been a member of Williams F1, becoming a mechanic on the test team in 1979 before joining full race operations later.

The 3.0-litre Ford Cosworth V8 engine has been rebuilt, along with the five-speed manual gearbox, by classic race car specialists Geoff Richardson Engineering and BPA Engineering Ltd. It’s also sporting the livery from the day it won the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Williams FW07/01 is under the hammer online at racecarsdirect.com, with a starting price of £600,000 and bidding will end at 17:00 BST on March 31. If you’re feeling a little impatient, there’s also the option to buy the car outright for a cool £1 million.

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