Nor: Please Tell Us About The Museum How It Started And The History Behind It
GB: We live part-time in Newport and had some cars in storage in Portsmouth. We actually designed a house where we live in Florida so that I could keep some of the collection there â cars that I love to just drive regularly. We were also racing two sailboats at the time, a TP-52 and a 12 Metre, almost every weekend, and I woke up one morning and said, âMaggie, I think, as busy as we are with sailing, we should probably sell the cars we just donât have time to drive them as much anymore. Itâs that or we should start a museum!â And without hesitation, she says, âYes, letâs do a museum!â I was starting to make some deals on cars for the museum, and a broker mentioned that this building, a former missile manufacturing facility on the Raytheon campus, was for sale.
We bought it in September and immediately started demolishing the interior. We settled on a design firm named Sparks to help us with the design, because our contacts at the Revs Institute in Florida said they had been involved in their design. Sparks also did Ralph Laurenâs automobile museum. I had my own ideas. They had their own ideas, but we came together in the end to put the whole design together. We had a lot of fun doing it. Maggie had her size 8.5 shoe kicking us all in the butt to get it done by June 1, because thatâs the start of the season here in Newport. We knew that tourists would be an important part of keeping the lights on.
Nor: Maggie Youve Added A Very Important Womans Perspective To The Genre Of Automotive Museums Can You Describe The Thinking That Occurred And The Features Of The Museum That Have Resulted
MB: Do you smell any gas or oil? No? Thatâs on purpose. We didnât want this to feel like a garage with cars all packed in. A garage feel is not appealing to women, I believe.
Women are hard to attract to car museums in general. Weâre about 75% men and 25% women visitors to date. Thereâs a few times weâve seen women sitting here in the entry reception area, not going in the museum, waiting for their men. So, I have taken them in for a âï¬ve-cent tourâ, and they like it. They stay. One of the board members of a Boston car museum asked me, âhow did you get my wife to come in? She never comes in.â The five-cent tour does it! Colors are important. Take the blue NSX – I just love the color. Someone could tell me it has three electric motors and an engine and batteries and all that⦠In my opinion, itâs like, who cares? But I can see the cool shape. There are very successful people who donât care that much about cars but they love the art and design of the special cars and art in the museum.
We have a collection of Mid-Century modern furniture integrated into the museum, so people can sit and relax. And you should see the thickness of the ceiling tiles we have. Gunther hates when it gets too noisy to be able to talk. So we have gone to great lengths to manage the sound level of the museum. Weâve worked hard to make it very appealing to everyone.
Nor: Those Auctioneers Are A Wily Bunch
GB: Well, there are two cars that everybodyâs always asking for. Camaros and Ferraris. Because of the quality nature of the museum, I really only want to buy the best. But to buy the best, say, a â62 250 GTO is⦠ï¬fty million bucks, thirty million bucks, whatever the numberâ¦itâs just crazy! We have Lamborghinis so when visitors ask for Ferraris, I always quote Frank Sinatra: âIf you want to become someone, buy a Ferrari. If you already are someone drive a Lamborghini.â
Recently, we had a bunch of people here for a birthday party. And interestingly enough, about 20 of the 200 people had the last name Ferrari. They kept coming up to me asking, âWhere are the Ferraris? Weâre Ferraris and we want to see Ferraris here. Come on, youâve got to get some Ferraris!â I said, âLook. Do you have any great uncles that have died recently? I know with the name Ferrari, youâre probably Roman Catholic so they probably werenât cremated.â And they said, âYeah, but he have one who was cremated.â I said, âDo me a huge favor because there are a lot of people like you that ask for a Ferrari. Bring his urn here and Iâll put it on this desk and when they say, âdo you have any Ferraris?â Iâll say, âyeah, thereâs one right there!ââ They all laughed.
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Nor: When We Last Talked There Were Some Thoughts About Expanding Into More Of The Raytheon Space And Building A Track And Things Has There Been More Thought On That
GB: Iâm still interested in doing it. Iâve been continuing to talk to Raytheon. My oï¬er to them has always been that Iâd be happy to buy the adjoining building, but I want to purchase the rest of the vacant property. I can just see, even starting up here, a long straight that goes all the way down to Burma Road. There is a real change in elevation and then coming back up here to the Museum with some more technical curves and turns. Maggie and I were just out at Miller International Raceway doing the Ford GT350 Driving Experience. The race track they used was 2.2 miles. I almost think we can get 2.2 miles here and that would be enough.
Rhode Island Car Museums
222 BELLEVUE AVE, NEWPORT, RI 02840 856-4420
âMore of an Art Museum than a Car Museum,â we celebrate the Machine Age, when art and automobiles came together. With access to more than 200 of the most remarkable and rare vehicles ever made, the Museum takes pride in its ability to display automobiles from 1899 to modern day. Vehicles are chosen specifically and showcased based on ever-changing exhibition themes. By displaying 15-20 cars at a time, the Museum gives patrons and enthusiasts of all ages a completely unique experience with each visit.”Preserving Newport’s History One Car At A Time.”
1847 W MAIN ROAD, PORTSMOUTH, RI 02871 848-2277
The private collection of some 50 automobiles at the Newport Car Museum focuses on six decades of modern industrial automotive design and celebrates cars as works of art. From the 1950s to the present, separate exhibits of Ford/Shelby Cars, Corvettes, World Cars, Fin Cars and Chrysler Mopars have been carefully curated to appeal to men as well as women and to all generations, from grandparents to parents to children.They reflect a time when artists who likely would have been the great sculptors in the Renaissance Age became stylists, designers and industrial engineers for the Big Three American auto manufacturers and leading European companies such as Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes Benz and BMW, perhaps enjoying more creative freedom than will ever be experienced by their counterparts today.
8 Cleveland Street, Pawtucket, RI 02890 447-4202
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Nor: Looking Out At The Summertime And All The Events You Have Coming Up What Kinds Of Things Are You Getting Excited About
GB: The switching out and moving around of some cars in our galleriesâ¦the new gallery that weâre doingâ¦weâre going to update the gallery videos because we have some new cars comingâ¦the arrival of the new 2019 ZR1 and the other new cars we boughtâ¦the movie car. Iâm really working on a Demon and hopefully every Saturday and Sunday –maybe two or three times a day–weâll take the Demon out and light up the tires and show people what an 840-horsepower car with a single seat can do on the drag strip⦠and try to lift the front end oï¬ the ground like it does. Crazy.
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Nor: Yes We Loved Seeing The Social Media Posts Showing Three Generations Here On Fathers Day Last Year And That You Encouraged That We Have To Ask Whats Your Favorite Car To Own Your Favorite Car To Drive And Of Course Whats Your Favorite Porsche
GB: Asking me which car is my favorite is like asking me which of my kids I like best. I have three kids and I love them all equally! Iâm my own curator here. I only buy cars that I like, and I try to drive them all. All of our platforms have ramps so I can take them out.
Weâre going to do a little revamp of the museum on our ï¬rst anniversary . Weâve got some really interesting new cars that weâre putting in another new gallery, our sixth, that weâre demoing for right now. They include an i8 BMW, which is an incredibly interesting car. Other than a Prius that I rented one time, Iâve never driven a hybrid car. It was fascinating to leave the garage in the i8 with just the tires squeaking – no sound! And then when you put it in sport mode thereâs this fake audio that replicates a car engine.
Then thereâs the 2017 Viper ACR, the last year of the Viper unfortunately. It came oï¬ the truck and I just put my foot to the ï¬oor and the back tires lit up. I went over a speed bump here at the Raytheon facility and I thought I was going to eject! The suspension was that stiï¬, and we didnât even have the front chin spoiler on it. Iâm sure it would have ripped that oï¬!
So to answer your question, I like to drive them all, and each of them has a story behind how I acquired them. Iâm a deal guy, so thatâs part of the fun.
His And Hers By Design
A visit to the Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
We sat down with Gunther and Maggie Buerman, founders of the Newport Car Museum to hear how this brand -new tribute to the âart of the carâ came to fruition. The museum, a 5013 located in Portsmouth, R.I. â just minutes away from the popular tourist destination of Newport â was just named by USA Today as one of the 10 Best New Attractions in America. It displays Guntherâs self-curated collection of over 60 automobiles representing seven decades of extraordinary industrial automotive design. He continues to collect, while parting with a select few of his current cars. The design choices in the museumâs construction and layout are as careful and speciï¬c to the tastes of the Buermanâs as their selection of cars. Read on, and youâll learn all about this wonderful new addition to our New England car landscape.
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Another Cause For Celebration
All Production Versions of the Porsche Speedster on Display
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. InJune, the Newport Car Museum celebrated its fifth anniversary by adding five new cars to its collection, whichis now 90+ strong and represents eight decades of automotive design. In September,it addedyet another car: a 1994 Porsche 911 Speedster, which is significant in that it means the Museum now has on display aPorscherepresenting everyproduction Speedster version built since 1954.
With a 1994 Porsche 911 Speedster added to its collection, the Newport Car Museum now has on display all five production versions of the Porsche Speedster built since 1954.
Im fairly certain thereare very few, if any, museums where the public can see all five production versions of the Porsche Speedster, which were built from 1954 to 2019, said Newport Car Museum Founder Gunther Buerman, who personally selects frequent additions to his private collection just as he hand-picked the original 65 cars that launched the opening of the Museum in 2017.
The 911 Speedster, a minimalistic opentop twoseater, with a distinctiveshort, raked windshield,is a rare classic that combines timeless design with state-of-the-art technology. The model 964 was the third version of this famous car and featured significant styling revisions over previous 911 models.
The Porsche Speedsters on display at the Newport Car Museum:
More About the Newport Car Museum
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The Newport Car Museum Experience
The Newport Car Museum opened in mid-2017 in a former missile manufacturing facility situated on seven acres of land in Portsmouth, R.I. Since, it has won numerous awards and the favor of large audiences typically reserved for museums with longer histories. Recently, Hemmings Motor News the car collectors Bible called it a notable addition to the classic-car world.
The private collection of some 90+ automobiles at the Newport Car Museum focuses on seven decades of modern industrial automotive design and celebrates cars as works of art. From the 1950s to the present, separate galleries of Ford/Shelby Cars, Corvettes, World Cars, Fin Cars and Mopars and American Muscle: Then & Now have been carefully curated to appeal not just to grandfathers, fathers and teenage sons but to men and women of all ages.
They reflect a time when artists who likely would have been the great sculptors in the Renaissance Age became stylists, designers and industrial engineers for the Big Three American auto manufacturers and leading European companies such as Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes Benz and BMW, perhaps enjoying more creative freedom than will ever be experienced by their counterparts today.
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Nor: Do You Think There Will Be Any Tie
GB: Weâve looked at some opportunities to advertise the Museum and we certainly welcome all visitors coming for the Volvo events. We spoke to Sail Newport, which is running the stopover at Fort Adams. The expense of advertising there didnât work for us. But we are on one of the main roads that everyone uses to come to town – about 140,000 people came to the Volvo last time, so hopefully we can waylay them to the Museum on the way down with an appropriate welcome sign. Also, word of mouth has been pretty good so far.
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Why You Should Go
Love old cars? The Newport Car Museum is a place designed to wow people, whether they are car lovers or not.
An ever-changing private collection of 85+ cars occupies six expansive galleries and occasional Pop-Up Exhibits .
Cars are displayed on platforms and turntables with no barrier ropes, so no detail goes unnoticed by the most curious observers. Staged under theatrical lights, the cars are surrounded by specially commissioned artwork and seating areas that strike the senses with curvaceous shapes of chairs and sofas from a significant collection of Mid-Century Modern furniture.
All the while, piped-in music pays homage to the more than eight decades from the 1950s to the 21st Century of automotive history represented by the exhibits.
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Nor: Will You Be Building Up The Porsche Part Of The Collection
GB: Yes. There are two or three Porsches that would look great in the Museum. A â54-â57 Speedster. A real one to with our â89. I had a â57 Speedster and a â55 Carrera Speedster and sold both a while ago, unfortunatelyâ¦so Iâm looking for a real Speedster. Iâm probably interested in a new GT2RS that would be a very special modern car that people would like. And Iâm interested in trading a 300SL I have for a 918. Those are the sort of Porscheâs that are on my radar list. And, you know, Iâm patient. Weâre going to try to feature the Porscheâs more on the left-hand side when you walk into the museum, where the NSXâs are now.
