An amazing shoot for a local billionaire's estate

p27rpy

Yes, that's billionaire with a "B"!

I was contacted by an auction company that is in charge of liquidating a portion of the cars. They wanted me to photograph a few of the cars for their publication, and had a very short time frame. I went out last week to shoot and was completely blown away. I had no idea what I was walking in to, thinking it was just a small collection. This notable Houstonian had amassed a collection of over 650 cars worth a staggering $100 million dollars. He had famous movie star's cars (Madonna, Steve McQueen, Marlene Dietrich - the list goes on and on), notable cars from movies, racing, history and more. It was amazing that there was a gem like this in Houston, and I'd never heard of it.

The caretakers at the warehouse told me that I was actually looking at only 1/3 of the previous inventory, and that I was photographing the "leftovers"...as he said, "All the Enzo's, McLaren's, F50's, F40's and Bugatti's all left about 9 months ago"

While this was an amazing opportunity, it is very sad that the estate has decided to liquidate all these cars. The previous owner had wanted to strike a deal with the city of Houston to make a museum featuring all these cars so that the public could enjoy them for years to come. It is especially disheartening because it is doubtful that there will EVER be a collection of this quality and size ever amassed in the United States again. What a golden opportunity missed.

1909 Cartercar Model H Touring. I'd never heard of this brand until now. It goes down as the oldest car I've ever driven! Well, driven as in steered while it was being pulled by a golf cart.



1985 Aston Martin Lagonda. What an ugly car! This think reminded me of a stealth fighter, as it reflected ALL the light I put on it which made it very hard to photograph.

The interior was straight 80's, with a dash layout like an old Macintosh computer and CRT (that's right, CRT) displays. How, um, futuristic.





1957 Ford Fairlane 500. Immaculate inside and out. Love the color scheme.







1957 Lincoln Continental Mark II. This car won awards at SEMA among many others. This thing was ridiculous in person. Bagged suspension, paint that was so glossy it looked like it was a foot deep. Such a beautiful car.









1961 Nash Metropolitan. Called it the "Creampuff", haha. The doors felt like two sheets of steel welded together with nothing in between because, well, that's pretty much what it was. Gotta love safety standards of the '60's.



1916 Oldsmobile Model 44 Roadster. Bill Harrah's old car.





1931 Ford Model A Victoria. I loved the paint scheme on this car. The photos just don't do it justice.





1965 Mercury Park Lane. For some reason, I loved this car. The green dash was awesome.





1927 Rolls Royce Phantom I Towncar. I found out from someone working there that this was the same model RR as the one featured in the "car love scene" in Titanic. Very regal looking car





A beautiful 1955 T-Bird that was in immaculate shape.









Two quick cell phone shots of the Pope John Paul II's 1975 Ford Escort GL, and FDR's 1941 Presidential Packard Limousine.





Here are two quick videos I took on my phone so that you can get an idea of how large this place was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM9RuZpOmRc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHXXdQnLCsA

You can view the rest of the photos here.

chuckinsocal

WOW ... Awesome is a gross understatement for those cars. I'd say they're beautiful but that's also an understatement.

I kinda like that Aston Martin Lagonda though. I wonder if they could arrange monthly payments I could afford .

Great photography .

ChrisJ

That is just incredible. It's like a little kid and his hot wheels collection, except they're all *real* cars!

Beautiful shots, and thanks for the bonus videos.

ValerieJean

These cars absolutely took my breath away. It is sooooo ridiculously sad that the collection was dismantled. What a head shaker. They are or were breaking down and auctioning Liberace's cars as well. What gets me is almost every car that old is a collectible. Yet, I can't imagine many cars after the 90's being as neat of 'antiques' as the ones in your images. Pretty awesome gig to get to tackle. Way to go.