TWO multi-million pound Ferraris are to be sold off to support a Dorset-based lifesaving charity.

The cars owned by the late Richard Colton are to be auctioned in a 'historic sale' with funds used by the RNLI to purchase a lifeboat named after Mr Colton and his wife Caroline.

It is one of the largest bequests ever received by the RNLI and one of the most unusual.

H&H Classics, one of Britain’s oldest classic car auction houses, will sell the cars at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, on October 14.

It is estimated the cars will sell for around £2m and £6m.

Richard Colton was a Northamptonshire-based businessman who had a distinguished career in footwear distribution. He was a prominent member of the V12 section of the Ferrari Owners' Club.

Legacy Manager at the RNLI Guy Rose said: “Leaving a legacy in a will is a very personal decision so we are humbled that Mr Colton chose the RNLI as the beneficiary of the sale of his two prized Ferraris.

The proceeds will go towards helping our volunteer lifeboat crews save lives at sea.

As a charity, the RNLI relies on donations to fund its lifesaving work.

In fact, six out of ten lifeboat launches are only made possible through gifts left to us in wills. Whether these legacies are large or small, we are deeply grateful to supporters like Mr Colton for their generosity and support for our charity.”

Chairman of H&H Classics Simon Hope said: “We are honoured to have been chosen to handle this sale which is of national significance.

These stunning motorcars have been with Richard Colton for 40 years and meant a very great deal to him.

So we are absolutely committed to realising the maximum amount for the cars. It promises to be an historic sale.”

The cars are a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT short-wheelbase (SWB) Berlinetta chassis 1995 GT, of which just 167 were made, with a mere ten being supplied new to the UK market.

Unveiled at the 1959 Paris Salon, today the Ferrari 250 GT SWB is on many experts’ list of the ‘most beautiful cars in the world’. It’s certainly one of the most valuable, joining the 250 Testa Rossa and 250 GTO in the multi-million-dollar club and is a ‘must-have’ for any serious Ferrari collector.

The other model is a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 chassis 10177 GT – thought by many to be the ultimate front-engined, Enzo-era Ferrari road car.

Another powerful Ferrari that made its debut in Paris, just 350 of the 300bhp, 160mph berlinettas were made, of which a mere 27 were supplied new to the UK market.

Other cars in the Colton Collection to be sold by H&H on 14th October include a Ferrari 550 Maranello, a Jaguar E-Type 'Lightweight Evocation’ by standard-setting model specialist Bryan Wingfield and a Jaguar XK120 Fixedhead Coupé.