• Rare Ferraris auction raised £9.04m – the biggest single legacy ever left to the RNLI

• Two 1960s classic cars pay for RNLI Hastings’ New Shannon Class Richard and Caroline Colton, officially named on April 27

• Donor Richard Colton was “nervous of the sea”

The sale of two Ferraris from a businessman’s classic car collection raised over £9m for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which named its latest Shannon Class all weather lifeboat after the generous donor and his wife, at Hastings on Saturday, April 27. The Richard and Caroline Colton was paid for by the generous legacy of the late Richard Colton, who left two classic Ferraris to the RNLI in his will when he died in March 2015. When the rare cars went to auction in October 2015 they, and the auctioneer’s commission, raised £9.04m – the largest single legacy ever donated to the RNLI.

Part of the Colton bequest has funded the all-weather lifeboat while a launch and recovery system for the lifeboat at Hastings, is named Richard and Mark Colton after his son Mark, who died tragically when he was young.

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The Colton family sent the cars to H&H Classics for sale at their Duxford auction in October 2015. The cars were a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT short-wheelbase (SWB) Berlinetta chassis 1995 GT (the red car in the photo), of which just 167 were made with a mere ten being supplied new to the UK market, and a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 chassis 10177 GT – thought by many to be the ultimate front-engined, Enzo-era Ferrari road car. Sold without reserve, they both exceeded expectations, the 1960 GT making £6,600,000, and the 1967 GTB fetching £1,930,000. The sale of the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT was itself a world record for a steel bodied car, according to H&H.

Simon Hope, Chairman of H&H Classics, seen below with the lifeboat and her crew, commented: “These two Ferraris of national significance had been with Richard Colton for 40 years and meant a great deal to him. So we were absolutely committed to realising the maximum amount for them, and it proved to be an historic sale, providing the single biggest bequest in the RNLI’s history.”

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H&H waived its commission which meant the RNLI received a further donation of £511,800 from Simon Hope, taking the total to over £9m.

Designed in-house by RNLI naval architects, the Shannon class lifeboat was introduced to the fleet in 2013. It was the first of the RNLI’s all-weather lifeboats to be powered by water-jets rather than traditional propellers, making it the most agile and manoeuvrable lifeboat in the charity’s fleet. See more: HERE

The special ceremony, held at the lifeboat station, was attended by a large crowd who were welcomed by the RNLI’s crew and volunteers, along with the family of Richard Colton and dignitaries, plus the special 250.

RNLI Hastings Coxswain, Phil Jones, said: “The naming ceremony and service of dedication is a very special day for everyone associated with the lifeboat station, and we are so grateful to the legacy of Richard Colton, for making this happen. This will enable the station to carry out our lifesaving work and serve the community of Hastings.

“Six out of ten lifeboat launches are only made possible by legacies, large and small, left to the RNLI in people’s wills. These gifts pay for the training and equipment we as lifeboat crew rely on when we launch into the unknown, in all weathers, day or night to save others.

Richard Colton, was a Northamptonshire businessman who had a distinguished career in footwear distribution and for 40 years collected and actively restored sensational classic cars. Described by close friends as “shy and private”, he was known to be somewhat nervous of the sea, which may have added to his great respect for the men and women who risk their lives daily around Britain’s coast.

Mrs Jo Adams, cousin of Richard Colton who performed the naming duties on the day, said: “As Richard’s first cousin and sadly the last surviving Colton, I, together with all my family and his friends are immensely proud of this wonderful gesture! It is of even greater significance personally because my husband and I have always been keen offshore sailors and recognise full well what the RNLI means to the sailing community amongst many others.”

Top image: The RICHARD & CAROLINE COLTON with the £6.6m 1960 Ferrari which paid for it. © RNLI/Kt Bruce