The stellar Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, Florida, is going public in a big way. It held a gala ribbon-cutting event Monday evening that featured a major surprise: that the newest addition to the already stunning collection is the 1970 Gulf-liveried Porsche 917K that actor Steve McQueen drove in the movie Le Mans.
The car sold at the Gooding & Company auction in 2017 at Pebble Beach for $14,080,000, bolstered largely by McQueen’s iconic reputation as a performance car aficionado and racer, and setting a record for a Porsche sale.
On January 10 of this year, McQueen’s association with the 1968 Ford Mustang GT used in the film Bullitt helped send that car to a total bid of $3.74 million.
The Brumos Collection stemmed from Brumos Porsche, a dealer since 1959 that was taken over by racer and businessman Peter Gregg. He established Brumos Racing in 1971, and he and driving partner Hurley Haywood started a rich racing tradition that lasted until 2013, with victories that included winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona four times. Gregg died in 1980, and the Brumos company passed to his wife, Deborah.
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Dan Davis acquired the dealership in the 1990s, then sold it in 2015 to the Field Automotive chain. It is now known as Porsche Jacksonville.
The Brumos Collection is separate and is moving to a new building: a 35,000-square-foot interactive museum dedicated to the technology, innovation, and historical significance surrounding its collection. It will house more than three dozen race and collector cars.
The building itself pays homage to Jacksonville’s place in automotive history: In 1924, 16 years after the first Ford Model T was produced, Henry Ford expanded production to a 165,000-square-foot plant in Jacksonville. The Brumos Collection’s purpose-built facility was designed to pay homage to the original Ford plant.
In addition to the new star, Porsche chassis 917-024, the collection also includes the following cars:
—1972 Porsche 917-10, a car first produced in 1971. This Can-Am racer has a twin-turbo engine that could make 1100 horsepower. Gregg raced the car to ninth in the 1972 Can-Am championship, followed by Haywood’s third-place finish in the 1973 Can-Am Series season. The Brumos Porsche 917-10 was the first race car to carry what has now become the globally recognizable white, red, and blue livery.
—1914 Peugeot L45: Between 1912 and 1914, Peugeot made some race cars with dual-overhead-camshaft racing engines, the ancestors of high-performance engines to follow. In the early 20th century, Peugeot racers ruled the scene with some of the sport’s greatest drivers: Jules Goux, the first foreign driver to win the Indy 500; Georges Boillot, first winner of the French Grand Prix; and Italian driving ace Paolo Zuccarelli. Of those early Peugeots, this is one of only two that remains.
—1979 Porsche 935: Gregg won six IMSA Camel GT championships and scored 41 victories in the 1970s. In 1979, he competed in his final, and perhaps finest, season as he earned a record-setting eight wins and eight straight pole positions. The No. 59 Brumos Porsche 935 was Gregg’s last race car and is now believed to be the last unmodified 935 still in existence.
—1923 Miller 122 Grand Prix: Miller was the first American race car bought solely to race in Europe. This 1923 Miller 122 Grand Prix was driven by Bugatti racer Count Louis Zborowski, who raced it in England, Spain, and France. Returned to the United States 89 years later, this is considered one of the most complete surviving Millers.
—1968 Porsche 908: This is also a new addition to the Brumos Collection. In the second track appearance ever for Porsche’s then new 908, drivers Jo Siffert—who was the owner of the 917-024 until his death in a Formula 1 car at Brands Hatch in 1971—and Vic Elford tackled the notorious Nürburgring. Starting 27th, Siffert took the 908 to second at the end of the first lap and into the overall lead after the second lap, setting a lap record.
As for the 917-024, it was initially used for Le Mans testing before being featured in the McQueen film. After Siffert’s death, it spent more than 20 years in a barn until it was restored in Switzerland. It was last seen publicly in 2017.
And as for the collection itself, executive director Brandon Starks says that the new museum’s purpose is to salute automotive history and educate guests about its intricacies.
“More than a technical tale, the exhibition reveals the very soul in these machines—cars inspired by their predecessors, with never-before-seen technologies developed by the hands of masters, tested in competition and celebrated in history. Using interactive media, we’re able to bring these vehicles to life, providing guests with the opportunity to explore at their own pace.”
Located at 5159 San Pablo Road South in Jacksonville, The Brumos Collection will initially be open Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit the collection’s website.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
