Ralph Lauren's Garage - Vanity Fair

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2011/01/ralph-lauren-garage-201101

 

We know of him....

Thanks for sharing with us though......

 

I knew Ralph as a famous car collector. Didn't realize he had a side hobby of clothing company by the same name.

 

House paint too........

 

And discount furniture.

 

And 3-piece luggage sets at Big Lots for only $79.... who knew!!

 

Kudos to Vanity Fair for a great article and fantastic photographs.

 

Do they get exercised as Jay Leno,s are.

Or are they just going to pass away without ever firing a shot in anger????

 

250LM looks "Ralphed"

 

seeing this wonderfull cars makes me angry, because one sees that they are never used. its a hard crime to own historic racing ferraris and not to use them for the reason they are born: racing! it is like collecting wonderfull women and never touching them.....
michi

 

His cars are used. I have personally seen him driving one of his Gullwings and his 959. And I am pretty sure his 375 has been vintage raced at Laguna Seca (although he did not pilot the beast).

 

ok, then I am sorry, but I have never seen one of the historic ferraris at the historic challenge or at goodwood revival or on the track. did he at least drive the mille miglia, which of course is not a race ?

michi

 

Pretty much all of his cars have been "Ralphed", that's what he wants his collection to be. As noted in the article, he is buying cars and turning them into what he believes would be the ultimate vision of what they would be if they were perfect. Never mind that they were never made that way, or that, in the case of racing cars, the patina that they acquire over their lives is part of their history. He has a vision of their beauty and that's what he wants to make them. He has the means to do so, and they are his cars, so he can go for it.

Not what I would necessarily do, but to each his own. You have to admit that some cars like the GTO and the TR are pieces of art, and if you adore the shape it might irritate you to have the panels all wavy, like they were when new, or most certainly were after a couple of seasons of racing.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if it makes him feel good to see them that way, they are his cars, so why not. He does drive the cars from time to time, so they aren't simply museum pieces. He has excellent taste in cars IMHO, and if I had an unlimted budget, my collection wouldn't look much different in car selection than his.

Not meant as a defense, just a different point of view than others on the board might portray.

 

Too bad he totally "Ralphed' Kraznavian's old GTO. Would of been nice to keep the LeMans lights on the roof and keep the orignal racing trim as is. (watch [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCfItWwi2V8&feature=fvsr[/ame])

 

I have a different opinion here. Especially when it comes to cars being rare and historically important pieces of art or even one offs, the owner has a special responsibilty. Some cultural assets shouldnt be modified in such ways, no matter if the owner is Ralph Lauren or not and has of course excellent taste. Imagine Hugh Hefner buying the Mona Lisa and asking a specialist to color her hair blonde just because he likes it better.

 

As far as removing the LeMans lights and stuff, I think you have to consider that say in the life of his GTO, it's been many decades and has looked different for different events, maybe even been other colors. So everyone that owns a valuable old car has that decision to make--should he restore it as it looked new, or when it was owned by the such-and-such racing team or by a particular owner? Also a car in full race trim might get you a ticket for loud exhaust from a cop who has no appreciation of Ferraris so that might be another consideration. When I first moved to Calif. in 1969, I used to go to ferrari owner's club events and members would drive Ferrari 330P's, 250LMs, and even a P3/4 on the street and they didn't get ticketed that much but I don't know if that would happen today. So I say, give Ralph a break, maybe he picked a previous look of the GTO and aimed for that.

Also I think it's remarkable he hasn't worked them into his ads that much, if at all, though I have seen his Bugatti and some less expensive of his collection in his clothing ads. There's always the worry some clothes vendor who has a lot of Ferraris will feature them in his ads and cheapen the image of the marque. I really got a kick out of Hugo Boss, in an ad a couple of years ago featuring a GTC/4 when he could have obtained much more modern Ferraris. He was letting the car say something about the taste of his customers.

 

I agree... a car's owner can do whatever they like to it. No big thing to me... I just think it's cool to have the racing bits remain on the car. I found it interesting when Steven explained about the roof lights in the video.. I had never seen a GTO with them. And I'd image they'd be quite the conversation piece because once they're explained you look at the car as not so much a piece of art, but for what it really is - a purpose built racing machine. And afterall, that's one of the main attractions Ralph has to these cars, their historical functionality.

 

I have similar feelings but bear in mind that there are 36 GTOs and one Mona Lisa.

 

No, the point of this new facility was to combine shop and storage...he drives them all......

 

He's pretty much polished and painted all the scars of battle....they are jewel like in their perfection......

Maybe I should send my 308GTBs and the Roller Derby girls in, for a "Spa Day"......LOL!

 

the article states he drives all the cars himself. i have read that elsewhere as well. he's an ultimate car enthusiast and i wouldnt fault him for anything he does with his cars

ive noticed his cars in many of his fashion ads. the mclaren f1, count someone's mb, bugatti, etcs. i bet this makes them a business expense

 

That 250LM has a proud racing history,now its just a hanger queen.

 

Ralph does not attend the GTO anniversary events held every five years, for what that is worth.

 

What he said.

I'm going through this now at a much lower price level with a vintage Porsche racer. I bought it with dents, old racing stickers, etc. I'll keep the stickers in a book for posterity, but don't see the point in keeping a banged up car with dull and scraped paint. No one who was around "back then" would be excited about old race damage.

 

That's a shame. I'm sure you'd enjoyed being reunited with your old sled now and then!