British businessman with 12,000 garages owns largest private classic car collection in Europe
- A British businessman known as ‘Mr Lock Up’ has Europe’s largest private classic car collection
- Rodger Dudding, 86, has more than 420 cars crammed into his collection
- Notable models include a 1968 Jensen Interceptor FF, a 1911 Vulcan, and 24 Aston Martin Lagondas
Published on Jul 30, 2024 at 7:43 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Aug 02, 2024 at 6:07 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A British businessman who owns more than 12,000 garages, and goes by the nickname, ‘Mr Lock Up’, owns the largest private collection of classic cars in Europe.
Former Royal Navy mechanic Rodger Dudding’s road to riches began back in the 1970s when he invented a ticketed queue management system.
From there he moved into storage and now owns around 12,000 garages and lockups and is worth an estimated $2.8 million (£162m).
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The huge collection contains more than 420 classic cars
He’s also the owner of Studio 434 – a collection of more than 420 classic cars, which is believed to be the largest in Europe.
Amongst some of the gems stashed away in Dudding’s treasure trove of vehicles is a 1952 Morris Minor that used to belong to his dad; a 1968 Jensen Interceptor FF; a 1911 Vulcan tourer with just 15.9 horsepower; and a 2017 Rolls-Royce Wraith – who wouldn’t want one of those in their collection?
It also houses the largest private collection of Aston Martins including a whopping 24 Aston Martin Lagondas.
For those unfamiliar, the Lagonda is an unusual wedge-shaped vehicle that was once listed on Bloomberg’s list of the ‘ugliest cars’ from the last 50 years and Time magazine’s ’50 worst cars of all time’ roundup.
Ouch.
Despite its reputation, Dudding claims it helped to save Aston Martin.
“Without this car, Aston Martin would have gone bust,” he told The Intercooler.
“Yet it’s been whitewashed from history. They’re quite temperamental but very relaxing to drive. And they have so much presence. In London, it literally stops traffic.” We’ll leave it to you to decide if that’s a compliment or not.
Dudding’s cars are worth millions in total
In total, Dudding’s Studio 434 collection has a ‘conservative’ estimate of $51.5 million (£40m), and in addition to cars, it includes motorcycles and automotive memorabilia.
There’s even a Dalek from the BBC hit science fiction show Doctor Who stashed away there somewhere.
It showcases more than 100 years of motoring and is open to the public.
Most of the cars are also available to hire and can be used in TV and film productions, at weddings or just to show off an event of your choosing – you can even get yourself a chauffeur to ferry you around.
Sounds good to us.
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
