Speed, Style, and Beauty - Cars From the Ralph Lauren Collection

Jay Leno and Ralph Lauren are almost certainly America's two best-known car collectors. Each man's incredible collection of automobiles reflects their personality as well as their public image. While Leno's vast collection does include irreplaceable Dusenbergs and renowned racing cars, the contents of the hangers where he stores his collection are quite eclectic and reflect his unique interest in cars that have a story to tell. He is justifiably proud of his encyclopedic knowledge of automobiles and motorcycles, but his collection really reflects his blue-collar roots and blue denim personality. While Ralph Lauren also sprang from a modest, blue-collar background, he was an ambitious young man and always aspired to be one of the moneyed "smart set". He made his fortune from his Polo collection of clothing, which was not so coincidentally influenced by the classical styles of the 1930s. For more than a generation Lauren has dressed men in a moneyed, tasteful way and his collection represents the finest, most visually stunning automotive rarities that money and taste can buy. Lauren's cars track so well with the style and cut of his apparel line that some of them have bee used as backdrops or props for advertising spreads. This lavish book was produced in 2005 on the occasion of the exhibition of Lauren's collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Now, I think the practice of exhibiting automobiles or motorcycles in art museums is a dubious one and simply an attempt to increase their box office, but in any event, it was a beautiful exhibit. This is a large format book with photographs by Michael Furman, who is often said to be the finest automobile photographer working today. The text is by the prolific English motoring writer Winston Goodfellow and Beverly Rae Kimes. Twenty-nine automobiles are covered, each of which are written about in individual features that are usually six to ten pages in length. The chapters are well-written with a nice series of anecdotes that help explain the origin of the car, its owners and unique allure. As you would expect from a book on Ralph Lauren's collection, the production is nothing short of stunning. Ralph Lauren was always drawn to automobiles and upper class tastes, so when he had hit it big, really big, he began to collect automobiles, the type of cars he loved and that he knew would be appreciated by the most sophisticated Palm Beach and Pebble Beach collectors. While the cars are a private passion, they are also a manifestation of his well-cultivated public image. The cars in this collection are all very desirable among the cognoscenti, this means Bugattis, Jaguars, Porsches and most of all, Ferraris. Lauren began collecting in earnest in the mid-1980s and most of the cars represented in this book were acquired between 1985 and 1990. He has a good eye for beauty and was patient enough to wait for only the most desirable examples of the cars that he wanted. Once he acquired the

This book is a great visual treat for anyone who likes a fun car. Fun - as is in -rare, exotic, expensive, and vintage. Ralph knows how to collect cars.

i ordered this book after reading about it in road and track and its a great addition to any car enthusiasts' library. the photography is stunningly beautiful as is each of the cars in the collection (minus a few at the end). The history and descriptions of the cars are great as well but mostly I got the book to drool over the the pictures. the '54 Ferrari 375 Plus and '58 250 Testa Rossa are probably my favorites, along with the more recent but just as classic McLaren F1.

Fans of race car styling will relish Speed, Style And Beauty: Cars From The Ralph Lauren Collection, a gorgeous blend of lovely photos by Micahel Furman with texts by Beverly Kimes and Winson S. Goodfellow. Featured here are some of the most notable cars of the collection, from Bugattis and Aston Martins to Mercedes and McLaren. More than just a book display, Speed, Style And Beauty is a catalog for a major exhibition featuring almost thirty of these cars, and is the first to focus on the car as an art object in and of itself.