Vijay Mallya is an Indian business tycoon. He is best known for owning Kingfisher beer and the Force India Formula One team. He is, among many things, a car buff and owns hundreds of classic cars in Europe, America, and India.
I was fortunate enough to visit his private American collection. The eclectic fleet was fantastic and all in running condition. A huge Thank You to Malcolm Page, the curator of the collection, who was a gracious host and generous with his time and knowledge.
Click here to see Rchen's uber-gallery.
A note about my photos. The great thing about this place is that there are no velvet ropes. I got pretty close to the cars and saw some minutiae that would otherwise never be noticed.
1955 Porsche 550 Spyder
This is the only Spyder with its original cloth top. I never knew these came with tops. Apparently, they were required for homologation purposes and owners detached them and threw them away as soon as they took delivery.
Porsche 550 Spyder interior. Notice lack of ubiquitous five-gauge instrument cluster.
Jaguar XJ220. You can just make out the gearbox.
From left to right: XJ220, Jag D Type, 427 Cobra
Ferrari 275 GTB rim
Ferrari 275 Pinifarina badge
Shelby insignia under 427 Cobra hood louvre
427 Cobra interior
Mercedes Gullwing rear view mirror (made by Talbot Berlin)
Mercedes gullwing doorhandle
Jaguar D Type interior
Ferrari 365 California Spyder Becker Mexico radio
Ferrari 365 California Spyder funky taillights
BMW M1
Mercedes 300SL roadster dash badge
Nine-star American flag on Jaguar XJR15
1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. The Spirit of Ecstasy had to be turned 90 degrees so that the hood would clear the wings when it opened.
Harley-Davidson Motorcyke bicycle with sidecar for child
The coolest part of the visit was that we helped push a few of the cars out of the museum. We also got to hear the engines of the 1913 Silver Ghost and this Alfa Romeo Bucci Special.
And we got to push this XJR15 also. What a great day.
3 comments:
That was a real treat of a visit. Thanks again for the invite! (My favorite bit was this "do not mess with carburetter" plaque on the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost.)
Ace post, thanks to everyone involved. That HD bicycle is incredible. Would love to see the pretty little 550's lines ruined with the top erected, just out of deep curiosity. Just to clarify, is this a public museum or a private collection? Where is it located within the States?
Here is the Spyder with the hideous top up.
http://www.mallyacollection.com/mallya/cars/details.asp?id=83
It's a private collection in Marin County.
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