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Business Break: Rev it Up at The REVS Institute

There is a nostalgic, emotional pull when you see the “Cavallino Rampante,” Ferrari’s famed “prancing horse” rearing against the yellow rectangular field which defines its timeless brand and worldwide racing and automobile manufacturing pedigree; it is more emotional when you realize this was, in fact, Enzo’s own personal road car.

Enzo Ferrari was given the title Commendatore (Knight Commander) in 1927 for his racing accomplishments by the King of Italy Vittorio Emmanuel III. When Italy became a Republic in 1946, such titles were nullified, and thereafter Il Commendatore became just his nickname.

If you think all of Ferrari’s masterpieces, even his own, were red, then think again. The 1962 Ferrari SuperAmerica on display at The REVS Institute is an amazing shade of silver-green, still wearing it’s original paint from the factory in Maranello, with a flawless black leather interior.  The car was originally built with a light colored interior in cloth, per Enzo’s specification, but that was ultimately changed along with a bunch of mechanical and performance enhancements.  When you’re Enzo Ferrari, you can do those kinds of things.

From horseback to horsepower, our love of movement, speed and ultimately the car itself, changed the world. The car expanded our boundaries and our minds, and of late, particularly with new technology, continues to take us to places we’ve never imagined.

I recently toured The REVS institute in Naples, Florida, one of Florida’s crown jewels and well kept secrets, open to the public, and in a building that was purpose-built and over engineered for temperature, humidity control and other protective measures. In a fleeting journey to automotive heaven, I saw 110 of the most amazing pieces of automotive history on the planet. Ferrari, Bugatti, Delahaye (you must see the 1937 Delahaye in person – there are no words to describe it – perhaps ethereal is close.), Duesenberg, Mercedes, Porsche, Cunningham, Lotus, Stutz, on and on.

In addition to the cars driven by Enzo Ferrari himself, there are cars driven by Stirling Moss, by Briggs Cunningham and even Gary Cooper, whose 1935 Duesenberg resides here. There is the original Corvette Grand Sport, Cadillacs and Chryslers. There are Fords and there are cars we’ve never heard of – and Miles Collier’s personal Porsche collection of cars that were driven on road, track or both.  Many by him and members of his family.

If you have never had the pleasure, you must visit.

One of the docents there (mind you, there is a waiting list to be a tour guide, and the guides are rigorously trained to teach visitors every nuance of history) made two points which resonated with me. 1. The museum is as much a storied celebration of the evolution of society as it is about the car, and 2. memorable performance cars evoke that feeling of freedom, of mobility, of daring – time behind the wheels makes you feel alive.

You might say that the reason this collection is alive today and represents a living, breathing (the cars are driven regularly) layer cake of automotive aesthetic splendor is due to the foresight of philanthropist and racer Miles Collier – of the famous family that built a great part of Florida, and Briggs Cunningham, a racing legend and longtime friend of the Colliers.

The restorations are so exacting, that as an example, the 1928 Stutz Blackhawk Boattail Speedster (which was restored to its configuration as a race car) was fully disassembled, restored and painted blue (the original color) and then completely disassembled and repainted white (which is how it was done when it was turned into a race car accompanied by a color change). Yes, blue over white, because that is what is was, and that is what it is.

As noted by the REVS Institute:

• An accomplished fine artist, investor and philanthropist, Mr. Collier also spent the better part of a decade racing in an E-Production Porsche Speedster as well as behind the wheel of other vintage automobiles. In 1984, Mr. Collier became the inaugural recipient of the SVRA Driver of the Year Award.
• In 1986, Mr. Collier acquired the Cunningham Museum collection of longtime family friend Briggs Swift Cunningham, which included the first Ferrari racing car ever sold in the United States and one of six Bugatti Royales ever produced.
• What is now known today as The Collier Collection began to take shape during the late 1980s and 1990s as Mr. Collier continued to grow his private collection of the finest, most original examples of sports cars and ephemera. He soon became widely recognized for his groundbreaking preservation aesthetic, which elevated the original function and integrity of historic automobiles.
• In 2000, Mr. Collier began hosting symposia on collecting rare automobiles that gathered the world’s most prestigious experts on preservation technique and theory.
• Above all, providing the automobile with a platform that demonstrates the sheer power and influence that this great, modern invention has profoundly contributed to our culture and history remains Mr. Collier’s tireless mission. The Rev’s Institute was founded in 2009 as a reflection of that determination and to serve as a center of scholarly study.
• That academic mission was bolstered in 2011 by the acquisition of the Ludvigsen Library; Karl Ludvigsen, a former General Motors consultant and past editor of Car and Driver and Motor Trendmagazines, had assembled a vast library with over 7,000 automotive books, 300,000 photographs and hundreds of research files.
• That same year, through the vision of Miles Collier the Institute began an affiliation with Stanford University known as The Revs Program which established a new trans-disciplinary field connecting the past, present and future of the automobile. The Revs Program at Stanford fosters a wide-ranging academic focus on the automobile. In recognition of the program’s scholastic merits, Hearst Publishing Corporation transferred its entire archive of Road & Track magazine to The Revs Program which will preserve and digitize the collection for future research and make its information available to the public.

By meticulously preserving these incredible milestones in automotive history, The Revs Institute is also endeavoring to shape history by elevating the status of the automobile as a cultural icon and agent of change and human progress. Thereby, collecting and documenting this important history and making it available to a new era of scholars and thought leaders, The Revs Institute seeks to serve as a platform for the next century of automotive innovation on and off the track.

You must see it.

At the very least, please enjoy the high resolution photos online here:

http://revsinstitute.org/