Collectors & Aficionados
Business F1 Top 20 Petrolheads: Ralph Lauren, the Great Car Connoisseur
Ralph Lauren's passion for classic cars, housed in DAD Garage, reflects his belief that cars are art meant to be driven. His collection, valued at hundreds of millions, influences his fashion lines with its elegance and craftsmanship.
There's no one quite like Ralph Lauren, and there never will be another. The fashion entrepreneur has built his collection with the same spirit and taste he has shown over many years of success with his aristocratic clothing lines. In his garage in the New York State, which he has named D.A.D. Garage, after the initials of his sons David and Andrew and his daughter Dylan, he houses his collection of over 100 examples of what he calls the art of the automobile.
His collection is recognised as the most valuable in the world. Estimates put it at many hundreds of millions today but he began many years ago, driven by a pure and deep passion, to hunt them down and collect them by acquiring them when their prices were much lower than today. Certainly an investment superior in profit and stability to the best Wall Street operations. Ralph Lauren's fascination with cars was sparked by his childhood spent in the Bronx, New York, attracted by the world of luxury and fashion to the point of starting his own business making and selling ties inspired by the beauty of cars. His first car, a 1955 Pontiac convertible, was part of the advertising image of the happy American family, the one where everything seems serene and perfect. It was also useful for discovering the craftsmanship of American cars of those years and he learned about the stitching of the seats and the materials used for the interiors.
