Sunday, June 8, 2014

8 Insanely Impressive Car Collections

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Some people like cars; some love cars; some make it their life’s mission to amass as many collectible cars as possible. The following people fall into that latter category, and are significant because they have all been endowed — in one way or another — with the means to do so.

Many people — celebrities, in particular — have numerous cars in their possession, but few of them have turned collecting cars into as much of an art as these following eight individuals.
They are not ranked by any particular metric.
 
 
Lingenfelter Corvette
 
1. Ken Lingenfelter
 
The son of a previous General Motors (NYSE:GM) executive, Ken Lingenfelter of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering knows his stuff when it comes to serious car collecting, and even more so about cars from his dad’s former employer. In his expansive, 150-plus car collection, about 40 percent is made up of Chevrolet Corvettes, ranging from earlier models (like the one pictured above) to the most recent C7 Stingray.
 
Outside of the Corvette namesake, Lingenfelter’s collection also boasts numerous foreign vehicles, like a Bugatti Veyron, a Ferrari Enzo, a Porsche Carrera GT, and others, among the vast number of American muscle cars.
 

Nick Mason Ferrari

Credit: Nick Mason’s Facebook

2. Nick Mason

Nick Mason will likely always be known more for his musical career first and love for automobiles second, but it’s a close race, as the Pink Floyd drummer boasts a collection full of numerous classic and rare race cars, primarily of European descent.

A McLaren F1 GTR, Bugatti Type 35, Maserati Birdcage, Ferrari 512, and a 1962 Ferrari GTO are all fortunate enough to call Mason’s garage home; a Ferrari FF joined the group more recently.


Tim Allen Impala

3. Tim Allen

While actor Tim Allen’s collection is impressive by any means, there’s a slight twist that makes his group of cars a bit more endearing than the rest: Allen has spent several years collecting the real-life cars based on models he had as a child.

Among the numerous muscle cars under Allen’s care is a special edition Cadillac DeVille with 398 horsepower; a 1996 Chevrolet Impala custom job (pictured above) that features a DOHC 32-valve Corvette ZR1 engine and delivers 446 horsepower; and a 1956 Ford (NYSE:F) F-100 pickup with a blown, injected 426 Hemi that puts out 1,100 horsepower, which is just the cherry on Allen’s automotive cake.


Jay Kay Maserati

Jay Kay’s 1955 Maserati A6G 54, Lois Rix; Source: Netcars.com

4. Jay Kay

The frontman of U.K. group Jamiroquai has built his name as an automotive enthusiast after a few appearances on the BBC’s wildly popular Top Gear TV show, and his collection of more than 50 vehicles certainly proves it.

Among the highlights, he owns the titles for a Ferrari Vignale 330 GT, a BMW 2002 Bauer Cabriolet, a Porsche 911 2.7 RS, a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (“We reckon it’s one of the last ever built,” Jay Kay said to The Telegraph), an Aston Martin DB6 Mark 1 Volante, and a Ferrari Enzo. Like Mason, Kay certainly seems to favor his European brands. (Note: the Maserati pictured above was sold at auction at Pebble Beach, California, in 2012.)


Jerry Seinfeld Porsche

Credit: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

5. Jerry Seinfeld

Avid Porsche enthusiast Jerry Seinfeld is so taken with the German nameplate that he bought 47 of them, worth some $15 million in total. His collection includes a Porsche Carrera GT, a Porsche 959 (alone worth around $700,000), and several vintage models, including a 550 Spyder, one of the rarest Porsches in the world.


Ralph Lauren Mercedes Count Trossi

Seinfeld’s collection takes up enough space that he reportedly rented out an airport hangar in Santa Monica, California, for the sake of housing it.

6. Ralph Lauren

Esteemed fashion designer Ralph Lauren has what can be described as one of the most impressive car collections ever amassed, featuring numerous rare vehicles that go back several decades.

Among those in the gorgeous collection are the Mercedes-Benz “Count Trossi” (pictured), a pair of Jaguar roadsters, a McLaren F1 LM, a slew of rare Ferraris, a Bugatti Type 37 Atlantic, and a 1929 Bentley Blower.


Sultan of Brunei

7. The Sultan of Brunei, Prince Jefri

Embodying the epitome of excess, the Sultan of Brunei (though, more accurately, his brother, Prince Jefri) has an immense car collection of more than 2,500 vehicles bought by the tremendous amount of oil that the nation — a small country of fewer than 400,000 people – has control over.

 Sadly, many of the cars have never even been driven; moreover, very little is known about the details of the extensive cache of cars, though the Web is frequently graced with spy shots of some of the many rare vehicles that grace the palace.

Though exact numbers are uncertain, Gizmodo ran a report that used phrases like “a row of [Ferrari] F40s” and “another half-dozen 512Ms Spyders” spread over several floors of the supercar-laden garage. Reportedly, the Sultan’s brother has spent close to half a billion dollars on coach-built Rolls-Royces and another $78 million on custom Ferraris, as well.



8. Jay Leno

Of all car collections worldwide, none are quite as famous as that of talk show host Jay Leno. This is largely due to the fact that he has his own show based on it – Jay Leno’s Garage – but also because Leno’s collection is so surreal and impressive.

From a 1909 Baker Electric to a Tata Motors (NYSE:TTM) Nano microcar, Leno’s collection features more than 100 cars and almost as many motorcycles; aside from early 1900s vehicles, Leno also owns a slew of muscle cars.

 Leno’s collection is known for being as diverse at it is expansive. Take a look at the clip above, which illustrates just how varied his collectibles are.


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