Williams F1 Team Sues Owner Over Vanished Historic Car
The Formula 1 team is seeking £1 million from a former garage owner after a valuable historic Grand Prix car disappeared.
British Formula 1 team Williams has initiated legal proceedings against a garage owner, demanding £1 million after a historic Grand Prix car, loaned to the company, vanished.
The car in question, a £750,000 Williams FW23 chassis, was driven by 2001 World Championship contenders Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya. It was lent to Autotech Performance Ltd in 2015 to be displayed at the firm's garage in Telford, England.
Williams states that they received no response when they requested the car's return six years later. Autotech Performance Ltd has since gone into liquidation and been dissolved.
The F1 team is now suing Peter Thorpe, the former owner and shareholder of Autotech, seeking either the return of the car or payment of £1 million in a lawsuit filed in the High Court. Lawyers for Williams allege that Thorpe removed the car from the garage and wrongly claimed ownership to the company's liquidators.
However, Thorpe, 58, who claims to live abroad, is contesting the lawsuit. In his defense, he asserts that he never claimed personal ownership of the car, stating he knew such a claim would be untrue. He also claims to not know the car's current whereabouts and attributes memory difficulties to a stroke he suffered in 2018.
Thorpe's legal representatives argue that he does not know who owned the car and that he last visited the premises in the summer of 2021, prior to the company's dissolution. They contend that he does not recall speaking to the liquidators or a valuer and that the car could have been removed after his last visit. His defense also disputes the £750,000 valuation, suggesting the vehicle was a show car without an engine.
Williams' barrister, Richard Clegg, outlined in court documents that the car is part of the team's heritage collection, the use and sale of which are strictly controlled for preservation. The loan agreement stipulated that Autotech could keep the car until October 2021, when Williams intended to inspect it and terminate the loan. Williams reportedly received no reply to their correspondence.
A spokesperson for Williams confirmed the team has initiated proceedings to recover the car, adding, "As the proceedings are active we will make no further comment but have full faith in the legal system to resolve this matter." The case has been filed in the High Court in London, but a full trial date has not yet been set.
