British F1 team Williams are locked in a £1million court fight over one of their historic Grand Prix cars which they say vanished after being loaned to a garage owner in Telford.
The £750,000 car is one of only nine FW23s manufactured by Williams and was used by the team’s 2001 World Championship drivers, Ralph Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Afterwards, it became part of the manufacturer’s unique collection of ‘heritage cars’, which it retains to preserve the team’s illustrious history.
But they say the car disappeared after it was loaned out to Shropshire-based Autotech Performance Ltd in 2015 to become a showpiece at the firm’s garage in Telford.
When Williams asked for it to be returned in 2021, they say they received no response and that Autotech has since gone into liquidation and been dissolved.
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The iconic racing company is now suing former Autotech director and shareholder Peter Thorpe for return of the car, or a payment of more than £1million.
Lawyers for Williams claim that Mr Thorpe has had the car removed from the garage, having wrongly claimed to his company’s liquidators that he is the owner of it personally.
But Mr Thorpe, 58, is fighting the claim, insisting in his defence to the action that he never told anyone that he owned the car, ‘because he knew this to be untrue’.
He claims that he doesn’t know where the car is and has a poor memory after suffering a stroke.
He added he cannot remember speaking to liquidators and that the car was still on site the last time he went there in the summer of 2021, before the company was dissolved.
Setting out the bizarre claim in its 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 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 Williams is seeking an order for return of the car, plus hire charges, or alternatively more than £1million if it is not given back.
However, Duncan MacPherson, for Mr Thorpe, said 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 June 30, 2021. The defendant suffered a stroke on October 7, 2018, that caused him cognitive impairment.
‘The defendant admits that the car was at the premises on August 8, 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 June 30, 2021 except to attend for the valuation of Autotech assets by C & K Recoveries Ltd on August 8, 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.
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