Collectors & Aficionados
Inside the World's Greatest Classic Car Collections – Part 11: Arturo Keller
Batteries charged, fuel in the tank — the Keller Collection runs as Arturo intended, now guided by a new generation.
Arturo Keller was a central figure in the world of international automotive collecting, a man who transformed personal passion into a genuine cultural vision — one built on style, memory, and the impulse to share. The strength of his character and the weight of his legacy make him feel present still, even though in February 2024, at the age of 91, he left us. Fortune has it that Deborah, Arturo's wife, played an integral role in building the collection with him and continues to preserve and promote its legacy through major events and a wide range of cultural initiatives.
Born in Mexico City to a family of Swiss origins and deeply tied to California, Keller always regarded the automobile as a universal language rather than a mere object to be collected or invested in. His imagination revolved above all around German motorcars — Mercedes-Benz in particular, the marque that gave rise to his collection and shaped his aesthetic sensibility — yet his enthusiasm recognised no boundaries. From the extraordinary 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahn Kurier to more elemental but equally meaningful machines, such as the Volkswagen Bus he drove along the roads of the family property in Petaluma, Keller consistently favoured character, style, and history over modernity.
