Richard Hammond has decided to sell three classic cars from his collection to finance a ground-up restoration of an E-type at his workshop, The Smallest Cog. The former Top Gear presenter revealed the decision during the opening episode of the new series of Richard Hammond's Workshop.
Business Evaluation Sparks Tough Choice
In the episode, newly appointed business manager Roy conducted an evaluation of the workshop's productivity. Unimpressed, he questioned Hammond on how many ground-up restorations he had completed. Hammond was obliged to confess: "None."
Roy proposed an E-type for renovation, but upon discovering the project's cost, Hammond faced a dilemma. He explained to audiences: "Jamie and Roy have come back to me with their estimate of what it's going to cost to do the E-type. We want to turn it into our perfect show car, an amazing thing to show off what we do. They say it could be £70, maybe £80,000. Bearing in mind I've already sunk a fortune into this business, I need to be a bit clever and business-like about it."
Three Cars to Auction
To raise the funds, Hammond decided to sell The Smallest Cog race car, the MGB GT, along with the Escort RS2000 and his Riley. He said: "And with a heavy heart I'm going to raise some of that money by selling The Smallest Cog race car, the MGB GT. We had have fun with it, it was great. But maybe it's run its course and along with it, I'm going to sell the Escort RS2000 that we did."
He added: "It wasn't a ground up restoration, the full work, so it won't do the job that the E-type will do. And then there is my little Riley. I bought it as a 50th birthday present, but I don't really have the time to use it. So all three cars have been going to auction where together they shall fund Project E-type."
The MGB GT, which marked Hammond's final drive on Top Gear, fetched £16,875 at auction. His 1933 Riley 14/6 Alpine Tourer commanded £25,875.
Workshop Expansion Plans
Hammond launched The Smallest Cog in Hereford in August 2021. On the shop's website, he revealed how his love affair with the automotive world was sparked by his grandfather, a coachbuilder at Mulliners of Birmingham.
He opened up on his expansion plans when he told the High Performance podcast: "I want to grow the business; I want a hub. I want a little roadhouse where people can come and see the cars being worked on, maybe do some car storage, maybe even consign some cars for sale. I don't know, celebrate the things that I love. But also, we need cars to work on."
He added: "It is a real workshop. One of the issues is people sometimes think we're like the repair shop, and you bring your car along and get 50 grands' worth of work done for free. I'd have to pay for that, and I can't."
During another segment of the programme, Hammond and his crew worked on refurbishing a former military Land Rover used to transport VIPs, high-ranking military people, and maybe even members of the Royal Family. Hammond explained that the Series II Land Rover had been "bought to us for recommissioning, and we're turning it back into something pretty special, and I'm quite keen to be part of that" following its more recent deployment as a farming vehicle.
Richard Hammond's Workshop airs on Tuesdays from October 27 at 9pm on Quest and discovery+.
