It must be about the first more or less cloudy day during the already legendary summer of 2018, when we park our car on a beautiful remote country estate in the middle of the undulating landscape. We have an appointment with Luxury Leads Member N°119. His charming wife immediately takes us to what she herself calls 'the family's favourite place': the bar in the beautifully renovated barn, where the classic car collection is waiting for us with pride.
The barn
"At one point our collection grew a bit and we gave our architect the assignment to make this barn a cosy and at the same time practical environment for our vintage cars. Looking back now, I can only say that he has listened very carefully to our wishes. Thanks to the two bridges, among other things, we can display the cars efficiently and in a beautiful way. The barn is just big enough for our collection. So if I want to add a new car, I first have to sell one. Indeed, the shed exudes all kinds of cars. With a carpet originally intended for a Mercedes Pagoda, padded Bentley-Alcantara sofas and wall coverings of Mercedes leather, you can easily dream about the beautiful classics that you can see from the bar. The many nice small and big details - the chassis of the bar table is the 'boite' of an Austin-Healey - complete the whole thing down to the last detail."
From stamps to classic cars
"At the age of 18, which must have been in 1980, I sold my stamp collection and bought a 1962 Mercedes 190 SL for 20,000 old Belgian Franks. The car served as a chicken coop for a farmer. I worked on that car a bit and after a while I could sell it for 100,000 Frank. Beware, today they pay 200,000 euros for this. So in retrospect it was not a bad idea, my first acquisition.
Austin-Healey MKI Roadster 1959
"With the money I got for my SL, I bought an MGB in racing green, I remember it was in a reasonable condition, but it needed some refreshment. I put wire wheels on it and 'of poverty' also polyestering wings. Then I bought an MGA and with the money I collected by selling both I financed the purchase of the Austin-Healey, which you see here. It is a copy from 1959, an MKI 3000 Roadster. One day, somewhere in Maastricht, I first saw a Briste brand car driving - it turned out to be the first owner - and it was love at first sight. We say and write 1983- 1984 and at that time it was still a blank page for me, I knew little or nothing about it. I already paid 2,000 euros for the wreckage, because it really was. I remember that we brought it in with the forklift truck. To give you an idea, a wreck of a Jaguar E-Type, you could still tap on the head for 20,000 euros. It was a wonderful time. I restored it together with a friend of mine who had a garage near a popular café. We worked very hard on it and after that we enjoyed it in the pub with our other comrades. The car was sandblasted and metallized and so far we have had to do very little work on it. Apart from a few new rims, an aluminium 'culasse' and a gearbox, this hasn't changed much over the past 35 years. We have now bought heavier brakes to make it more comfortable for rallying."
Mercedes 300 SE Convertible 1965
"I was still young and always had to sell first in order to be able to enter new material. Apart from the Austin-Healey, I sold everything from that early period. A few years passed before I bought a Porsche 911 Targa E 2.4 from a German. Soon it turned out that this car didn't like me. Something had happened to the rear rims and the car hit the body with the tires. Luckily I could sell it for good money. All in all, I didn't really like the car: it made a hell of a noise because of the special exhaust, such a metal sound, absolutely no nice 'sound' and the tare roof was hell. Then I bought a TVR Chimaera 4.0L, a dream of a car, with one big disadvantage. To drive a convertible you had to use the
taking luggage out of the suitcase... I exchanged it for an Aston Martin DB7 Volante 'racing green', with 'red bourbon' interior. I remember from that car especially the many trips we made with it. Of my type you only saw two of them driving on the Belgian motorways. I thought it was a pity that the English brand went on a commercial tour with the Vantage and you could see one on every corner of the street, so to speak. I decided to buy a Mercedes 300 SE Convertible from 1965. I could buy it from the first owner via a garage. It was a car that had always fascinated me immensely. At that time it was the most luxurious car on the market. By the way, it still drives like a flying carpet: I have driven 5,000 kilometres with it in the United States. There is also a lot of nostalgia behind it because it is a car that I saw driving in my childhood."
Mercedes 230 SL Pagoda 1964
"At the same garage there was another Mercedes for sale, which I had my eye on. A 230 SL from 1964 with original Blaupunkt radio, at the time only provided by the Belgian importer. Two ladies who owned a fabric shop on the Lippenslaan in Knokke sold them, including all the original documents: up to the 'servo', which they had built in after six years. I ride a rally in September in the Picos de Europa in Spain. The reason why I absolutely wanted to add this car to my collection is not something you should look far. My father had one of them and when I took in the smell of the car, I saw us sitting there again with the three children at the back. I belonged to the roar of the engine, the sound I recognized from my childhood and was immediately attached to it. It is one of the first examples that were made of this type, the spare wheel that stands upright is proof of this. Shortly after that they put it flat, but in the first version this was not yet the case."
Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole 1983
"A little later we enter the Ferrari era. I wasn't a fan of the new Ferrari's at that time, but I loved the Ferrari 308 'quattro valvole' from 1983. I then went looking for a convertible that was in very poor condition in terms of bodywork, but mechanically everything was fine. We tackled the exterior and repainted it in grey. Every ride is a real pleasure."
Ferrari 412 Coupé 1986
"When we were drawn all the way into the Ferrari atmosphere, we ended up with the 412 Coupé from 1986. We sometimes call it the 'Peugeot' among the Ferrari's because of its discrete line comparable to the Peugeot Coupé of Pininfarina. Through Paul Dubois, the chairman of the European Ferrari 400 Club, I came into contact with a grieving daughter in southern Germany. her deceased father had always maintained the dark blue Italian beauty with camel-colored interior with great passion and I was quickly convinced that he belonged in my collection, especially because the roof panels are in the same dark blue, which is quite rare. Delicious car to go out with the family - my sons measure more than 1.80m - which often happens."
BMW 2002 tii touring 1971
"The story of the white BMW 2002 tii touring from 1971, actually starts in my younger years. After all, it was the car I learned to drive. At a certain moment we are at a fair, when we see a wreck and I assure you, more wreck you can not be. The garage owner asked us not to drive it please, because the wheels or the steering wheel or both at the same time threatened to fly off. The coachman who managed to restore it took about three years before it was completely finished, but now it can be seen."
Talbot 105 Roadster by Abbott 1933
"I met here in the neighbourhood a collector who sold a Talbot. A real 'coup de foudre': magisterial line and after some research it turned out to be a unique one with an equally unique 'body'. The Talbot 105 3.0L with 6 cylinder appeared to have been at the Olympia Motor Show in London already in 1933 and I have the pictures that prove this in my possession. This car is known for its good engine that delivers excellent performance. You shift, as in Formula 1, with a small lever on the steering wheel: a so-called 'Wilson pre-selector'. After you have put the lever in the right position, press the clutch and after that the car will seamlessly shift to the chosen gear. Before that time, it was a technical masterpiece of its own. The brakes were also known at the time as 'outstanding'. The 'body' is made by Abbott, very modern, with two beautiful droplet shapes above the wheel arches. It is a four-seater, but if you close the valve you can turn it into a two-seater. When we were riding a rally in Italy, for a while a reporter from 'Octane' drove behind us. He didn't want to cross us, he wanted to see us and was fascinated by our cornering work. After all, it is 'working' to drive with it. But for us a new world opened up. The experience in the prewar can't be compared to anything else. Really a very pleasant and fun atmosphere. We also found a very good garage in Eeklo, where they can really good tinker with it, when necessary. The owner is now a friend."
Alfa Romeo Spider 1991
"In the meantime, the sons have got hold of the microbe. Because they can't always drive around with daddy's toys, they wanted their own car to restore. Their first idea was an MGA, but I didn't like driving without belts, headrests and decent brakes. In the end we ended up with an Alfa Spider from 1991. Ideal for them to take the first steps in their passion and I enjoy it myself. It is a hobby that we experience together with the whole family. The many trips and rallies we undertake are all nice memories, which bring us together every time again. We can't wait until the next trip."
Photography by: Hamers Lorenzo Photography
