Multimillion-dollar car collection of WA mining entrepreneur and racing icon Peter Briggs hits auction

A treasure trove of motoring history preserved by late WA mining entrepreneur and racing identity Peter Briggs is going under the hammer, giving collectors a rare chance to own a piece of the colourful businessman’s multimillion-dollar passion.

Bidding for the first part of the collection was opened by Donington Auctions at Perth’s Lord Street Garage on Monday, with bidders given until late Saturday morning to make an offer before the staggered closing begins.

All of the vehicles on offer were formerly exhibited at the York Motor Museum.

Mr Briggs arrived in Perth from the UK via Canada at the age of eight and left school at 15 for a carpentry apprenticeship, before later amassing his fortune in WA’s nickel and gold booms.

His success funded a lifelong obsession with classic machinery, with Mr Briggs building a collection of more than 200 classic and vintage cars.

The businessman blamed “the exuberance of youth” for his start in motor racing at Caversham circuit and he later shot to prominence after snapping up racing legend Norm Beechey’s first HK-model Holden Monaro, affectionately named the “big beast“. Mr Briggs and his Monaro won the 1971 WA Touring Car Championship at Wanneroo Raceway. He later went on to race the ex-Bob Morris Torana A9X Group C Touring Car.

His racing career came to an abrupt end in 1994 at Victoria’s Phillip Island when he crashed his Maybach III historic racer and suffered sever injuries, of which he was lucky to survive without losing a leg.

Determined to not let the close shave hold him back, Mr Briggs turned to historic rallying, competing across the globe as well as in the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Monte Carlo Rally.

Beyond the track, Mr Briggs co-founded the York Motor Museum in 1979 and set up the Fremantle Motor Museum in 2002, continuing to operate it until 2011. He died in 2022.

Among the rare collection up for grabs is his circa 1920 Australian Six Tourer, believed to be one of only five in existence, and the first to go up for auction in four decades.

Mr Briggs displayed the vehicle, which is expected sell for up to $140,000, at the York museum for 42 years. His circa 1902 Clement Twin-Cylinder 8hp Tourer, which is thought to have been imported from France to Melbourne by the then-governor of Victoria Sir Reginald Talbot, is also up for sale and expected to fetch up to $110,000.

The catalogue of items for auction includes a plethora of gems from Mr Briggs’ extensive automotive and naval book library, along with memorabilia and imported paintings.

More than 350 lots are part of the auction with significant bids already made for some of the prized vehicles.