TREASURE TROVE
I own Britain’s BIGGEST car collection worth £40m �I’ve a one-off Bentley but my most-special treasure is different
He's been collecting for 60 years now
THE MAN with Britain's biggest car collection worth £40million has revealed his most treasured item.
Rodger Dudding, 87, from Kent now owns more than 450 classic cars at his Studio434 in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.
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The car enthusiast and business magnate started collecting vehicles around 60 years ago, which are all now housed in his £7m garage.
Nicknamed "Mr Lock Up" or "RD" by staff, Rodger has been best known for his accumulation of no fewer than 24 Aston Martin Lagondas.
This includes the first and last examples of the rare model from the British car manufacturer.
Aston Martin only built 645 of their Lagondas, meaning Rodger owns 3.7% of their total production.
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He said: "The Aston Martin Lagonda, you love them or you hate them.
"You probably have to be nutty to own one, and you should be taken to the lunatic asylum if you’ve got three or more.
"I don’t know where that positions me."
On top of that, the Tickford edition included in his Lagonda collection is complete with a boomerang TV aerial in the boot, being just one of four made in 1984.
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But for Rodger, the most precious in the collection is his 1952 Morris Minor, known to sell for around £10,000 in perfect condition.
This is the automobile that started Rodger's love for cars and collecting, bought by his father in 1955.
He said: "It is totally and absolutely an original.
"I can look upon a motorcar in many cases as a piece of three dimensional art.
"It doesn’t have to be an expensive motorcar.
"It could be very small motorcar."
"And as an art collector of major specialist brands I thought there was a gap there and people were not necessarily saving for posterity, for history, and that’s why I buy unusual pieces of machinery."
Other notable vehicles in his collection are a 1984 Ford Capri, an early Honda NSX from 1992, a Taxi, Jaguar XJ220 and Jaguar XJ fire tender.
The 2002 London Taxi Company TXII that Rodger owns is a unique addition to the collection, which was also one of the first of its breed.
A 1968 Jensen Interceptor FF is also a special addition, being the first car Rodger purchased to start his collection of the UK's largest private collection of classic, vintage and modern vehicles.
A few Interceptors are kept at Studio434, but this one is a convertible making it real rarity.
Just 267 convertibles were made between 1974 and 1976 as Jensen went bankrupt, and Rodger's is one of the earliest examples.
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He also owns more than two dozen Jaguars, but the XJ220 is particularly special because it is one of just 274 made between 1992 and 1994, having a top speed of 213mph and able to do 0-60mph in just 3.6 seconds.
The XJR is also special addition which was built in 1995 to act as the fire tender at Donington Park racecar track.
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