The cave of wonders

A champion of the hobby, Bruce Meyer may be more enthusiastic than any other car collector about sharing his vehicles and his passion. The Beverly Hills businessman, a gearhead since his teenage years, is continually refining a collection that includes almost everything that sparks his interest. His garage serves as a gallery and combines the refinement of a museum with the functionality of a working office – one furnished with extraordinary cars.

The collection includes historic and recent Le Mans winners such as a Bizzarrini and a Porsche 935. Sports cars include the first production Shelby Cobra, a Testa Rossa, a 250 GT SWB and a 275 GTB/4 from Ferrari; Corvettes old and new, and other rarities from Mercedes-Benz, Duesenberg, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, and Bentley. Meyer’s garage also houses the Greer, Black & Prudhomme dragster, which won 230 of the 237 races in which it competed.

Along with dozens of perfectly restored motorcycles are some examples of Meyer’s favorite type of car: hot rods. They make up about a quarter of his collection. Meyer, who was instrumental in having the Hot Rod class added to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, owns such treasures as a 1932 Ford Doane Spencer roadster and a Bonneville Salt Flats belly tanker. He drives some of his hot rods flat out, and in 2012, at age 71, he earned membership in the Bonneville 200 MPH Club when the one he was piloting reached 330kph