F1 team Williams in £1m High Court battle after historic Grand Prix car vanishes into thin air

British Formula One team Williams has launched a High Court case worth more than £1m over a historic Grand Prix car that vanished after being lent to a garage owner in Telford.

The £750,000 racing car represents one of only nine FW23 models produced by Williams. It was driven during the team's 2001 World Championship campaign by Ralph Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, before becoming part of the manufacturer's unique collection of “heritage cars” maintained to preserve Williams's illustrious history.

However, the team says the vehicle disappeared after it was loaned to Shropshire-based Autotech Performance Ltd in 2015 to serve as a showpiece at the firm's Telford garage.

When Williams requested the car's return in 2021, they received no response, and Autotech has since entered liquidation and been dissolved.

The racing company is now taking legal action against former Autotech director and shareholder Peter Thorpe, seeking either the return of the car or a payment exceeding £1m. Lawyers for Williams claim that Mr Thorpe had the car removed from the garage after wrongly claiming to his company's liquidators that he personally owned it.

Mr Thorpe, 58, is contesting the legal action, maintaining in his defence that he never told anyone he owned the car, “because he knew this to be untrue”.

He claims he does not know where the car is, explaining that he suffers from a poor memory following a stroke. He added that he cannot remember speaking to liquidators and that the car was still on site when he last visited in the summer of 2021 prior to the company being dissolved.

Setting out the claim in case papers, Williams' barrister Richard Clegg said: “The car is part of the claimant’s unique collection of its own heritage cars, the use or sale of which it strictly controls inter alia to ensure so far as possible that they are preserved.

“In 2015, the claimant agreed to loan the car to Autotech on the terms of a document entitled ‘Historic Car Loan Agreement’ which terms were known and agreed to by Autotech.”

He said Autotech had been allowed to keep the car until October 2021 when Williams wrote, seeking to inspect it and terminating the loan, but received no reply.

He said that Mr Thorpe had “wrongfully claimed” to a valuer involved in Autotech's liquidation that he was the rightful owner of the car, having bought it himself.

“The car remained at the premises at all material times until the voluntary liquidation of Autotech... On a date unknown after the commencement of Autotech’s voluntary liquidation, or thereabouts, the car was removed from the premises,” he continued.

“When the liquidators contacted the defendant about the whereabouts of the car, the defendant claimed that he had moved abroad to work and would refer the matter to his legal representatives in the UK.”

He continued: “It is to be inferred that it was the defendant who removed the car from the premises, or who arranged for its removal therefrom, and the defendant who thereupon took possession and control of it.

“Further, it is to be inferred that the defendant retained possession and control of the car, and continues to do so.”

He said that Williams is seeking an order for return of the car, plus hire charges, or alternatively more than £1m if it is not given back.

However Duncan MacPherson, for Mr Thorpe, said that the businessman does not know where the car is and denies claiming to own it, since he cannot now remember speaking to the valuer.

“The defendant knows that the car was delivered to Autotech by the claimant in 2015 and is aware of the terms of the Historic Car Loan Agreement,” he says.

“He does not know who in fact owned the car then or now. The defendant closed the business of Autotech on 30 June 2021. The defendant suffered a stroke on 7 October 2018 that caused him cognitive impairment.

“The defendant admits that the car was at the premises on 8 August 2021, but does not admit whether it remained there until December 2021, because this lies outside his knowledge.

“The defendant did not return to the premises after 30 June 2021 except to attend for the valuation of Autotech assets by C & K Recoveries Ltd on 8 August 2021.”

He said he “believes that he has not told anyone that he owned the car, because he knew this to be untrue” and that the car could have been removed at some point after he last attended and before the liquidation.

He said Williams is not entitled to any order against him, while also disputing the alleged £750,000 value, claiming that the vehicle was a show car without an engine.

Williams' claim against Mr Thorpe was filed at the High Court in London, but the case has not yet gone before a judge for a full trial.

When contacted for a comment on the case a Williams spokesperson said: “We have initiated proceedings to recover a car that was lent to a third party and not returned to us. As the proceedings are active we will make no further comment but have full faith in the legal system to resolve this matter.“

The car was used by Williams' 2001 World Championship team, Ralph Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, who placed fourth and sixth respectively in the drivers' competition, behind overall winner Michael Schumacher.