> We're talking something like 4+ MILLION pounds (money, not weight) worth of
> Ferrari. He needed the cash and felt, somehow, that their retail value was
> below their insured value (??... don't ask me!). Anyway, yes, he cut them
> up into little pieces and now these stunning cars are gone forever! The
> fellow should have been drawn and quartered.
Yes, he needed the cash quite badly. However, he would have gained much
more fron the insurance than from selling the cars because he had *massively*
over-insured them. Many of the cars that were supposed to have had racing
histories in fact did not. One car in particular was insured for a huge amount
because it was a past Le Mans winner, amongst other things. The insurance
company was a bit dim though, because Brocket insured it using the chassis
number of a famous Ferrari that was known to have been destroyed in a garage
fire years before.
After the affair became public, it was clear that the insurance company had
taken most of what Brocket told them on trust. Any Ferrari enthusiast could
have told within 2 seconds that his collection was greatly over-valued. But of
course Brocket was an aristocrat, a *good chap*, so they trusted him.
It seems that Brocket hired a guy to purchase and look after his Ferrari
collection
on his behalf; this bloke didn't appear to know much about the cars himself.
Brocket certainly knew naff all about Ferraris - but they were good for posing
in.
Stephen Brook (not at all bitter and twisted....)
Brunel University
London
http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~em92ssb/
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