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About Us



Berlinetta CCA is a new company offering fresh and innovative alternatives to the traditional routes available when buying or selling your classic.

Our team has accumulated many years of experience working in the classic car industry, resulting in an encyclopedic depth of knowledge that's backed up by a genuine love for our subject matter. Whilst our professionalism and expertise is at the heart of our offering, primarily the company is run by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts.

That's not to say we don't welcome dealers, dabblers, newbies, old hands, investors, movers, shakers or even just reckless billionaires with wild spending habits.. But mainly we aim to cater for enthusiasts.

Directors (and brothers) Rob and Pete Thornton set the company up in January 2016 and have witnessed strong growth in terms of both demand and results since their first auction in May of that year.

Prior to Berlinetta, Rob has been a fixture of the classic car industry since the mid 1990's when he was one of a trio of consignment specialists employed by Robert Brooks at his eponymous company. When Brooks merged with Bonhams Rob decided the time as right to strike out on his own, forming classic car brokerage TTR from his base in the Midlands. Over the last couple of decades Rob has specialised in putting the buyers and sellers of a huge variety of models and marques together, but it's fair to say that Lotus has become his 'specialist subject'.



As Sales Director Rob is principally resonsible for shaping the consignment lists for all Berlinetta auctions, whether they be Weekly or Manor sales, and is therefore the go-to -guy for prospective sellers.

His personal car collection includes a 1965 105 series Alfa Giulia Sprint GT 'scalino', a 1967 Lotus Elan coupe (ex Graham Hill), 1962 Series 2 Lotus 7, 1962 Lotus 22, 1959 Frogeye Sprite, 1971 Ducati 350 Desmo and a half share in a 1979 Ferrari 308GT4.

Fellow Director Pete Thornton has previously enjoyed a successful career in Television, working as a freelance Production Manager and then Producer and Executive Producer until taking a full time role at the BBC in the early 2000's which he held for the next decade or so. During that time he rose to become a creative head and eventual overall head of BBC Comedy Production whilst also enjoying a break commissioning comedy for Comedy Central, before eventually leaving the BBC to become Head of Comedy at Tiger Aspect Productions.

Having been a classic car nut since before he cares to remember, Pete has lavished a great deal (some would say too much) of his spare time on his longstanding hobby, and is happy to say that he's never owned a modern car in his life.

The founding ideas behind Berlinetta were first discussed between the two brothers on the banking at Lavant during the 2014 Goodwood Revival, and eventually the temptation to launch a company operating at the heart of the world they loved became too great to resist.



Pete brings many years experience of organising complex film shoots to bear with good effect when setting up and running the auctions that Berlinetta hold at The Manor Hotel. As well as being in charge of event logistics, Pete looks after company the marketing, branding and website, amongst other areas.

His personal car collection is somewhat paltry compared to his brother's, but includes a 1966 TVR Grantura, 1969 Porsche 911T, 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider, 1973 Ducati Desmo and the other half of the aforementioned Ferrari 308GT4.

Other key members of Berlinetta CCA include our five strong consignment team, all dedicated enthusiasts who specialise in specific marques but have an excellent overall knowledge of classic cars and the market they occupy.

Equally key are our Graphic Design and Website Design and management team.

We are a small company, small enough to all effectivelly share the same ethos and same single-minded desire to simply be the best in the business.

We believe that selling or buying a classic car should be more than just a transaction. We aim to turn it into an enjoyable and ultimately rewarding experience for buyers and sellers alike by offering an innovative and original approach to every deal, and a world class service to both parties.