Old money has always had a particular relationship with the automobile. It is not about noise or novelty, and it is certainly not about being seen. It is about patina, provenance and the quiet confidence of owning something made properly by people who cared. In the great country houses and city garages of the past, a car was an extension of taste, like a well-worn leather armchair or a perfectly cut tweed jacket. It was judged on its line, its craftsmanship and the stories it carried, and it was driven with the same unhurried grace as everything else in a well-ordered life. The motor car, in this tradition, is an art form that happens to move. No one understands that idea better than Ralph Lauren. The designer who built an empire on heritage, craft and timeless American style has assembled a collection of automobiles that follows the same philosophy, from sculpted pre-war Bugattis to racing legends and modern hypercars. Here is a look at nine of them.
1971 Mercedes 280 SE Convertible
At first glance, the 1971 Mercedes 280 SE Convertible looks like the quiet member of the family, and that is precisely why it belongs. This is a four-seat open-top Mercedes from the elegant W111 line, built in an era when craftsmanship mattered more than horsepower figures. Chrome trim, a refined interior and a folding soft top give it the unhurried grace of a Sunday drive along a country road. Where many cars in the collection were built to win races, this one was built to be enjoyed at a gentle pace, with the roof down and no particular destination in mind. It shows that Ralph Lauren collects not only speed but also style, ease and the pleasures of old-fashioned motoring.
1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
Few doors in motoring history are as famous as those of the 300SL Gullwing. Hinged at the roof, they lift upward like wings, a solution born of the car’s tubular spaceframe, which left no room for conventional doors. Introduced in 1954, the 300SL was a road-going descendant of Mercedes’ racing programme, powered by a 3.0-litre straight-six with fuel injection, a technology rare in production cars at the time. Depending on gearing, it could approach 260 km/h, which made it one of the fastest road cars of its era. Today it remains as much a sculpture as a sports car, and a fixture in the finest collections in the world.
McLaren P1
The McLaren P1 is what happens when a Formula One mindset meets the road. Introduced as a hybrid hypercar, it pairs a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with an electric motor, for a combined output of around 903 horsepower, delivered through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The carbon-fibre structure keeps weight low, while active aerodynamics and a drag-reduction system borrow ideas from the racetrack. Production was limited to 375 cars, which gives it the rarity collectors prize. Within Lauren’s garage, the P1 represents the modern end of the story, proof that his appetite for engineering brilliance did not stop with the pre-war greats.
Also Read: Ralph Lauren’s USD68 Million Estate: Inside The Fashion Designer’s Lavish Property
1955 Porsche 550 Spyder
Small, light and brutally effective, the Porsche 550 Spyder is a racing car that happens to be road-legal. Its mid-mounted, four-cam flat-four engine, only 1.5 litres in size, was designed for efficiency rather than brute force, and the low, curved body keeps the car feeling more like a competition machine than a luxury item. It earned a reputation for giant-killing performance in the hands of privateers, and later became part of popular culture through its association with James Dean. The simplicity of the design and the purity of its purpose give it a charm that more powerful cars rarely match. It is a precious piece of Porsche history.
Ferrari LaFerrari
LaFerrari was Maranello’s first hybrid hypercar, blending a 6.3-litre naturally aspirated V12 with an electric motor from the HY-KERS system to produce around 963 horsepower. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission sends that power to the rear wheels, and the car sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in under three seconds before passing 350 km/h. Its carbon-fibre chassis and sculpted bodywork were developed with Formula One thinking in mind. Production was strictly limited, and Ferrari chose its buyers carefully, making ownership a mark of standing. In a collection full of history, the LaFerrari stands as the contemporary Ferrari flagship, a reminder that the prancing horse still sets the pace.
1929 Bentley 4½ Litre Blower
The Blower Bentley is the epitome of the inter-war British racing car, a machine for the brave aristocrat. Its most distinctive feature is the supercharger, mounted ahead of the radiator and visible at the front of the car, giving it a muscular, almost menacing look. The big 4½-litre engine, boosted by that supercharger, made these cars fast and fearsome, though not always reliable, which only added to their legend. Perhaps the oldest piece in Lauren’s collection, it carries the romance of the Bentley Boys era, when racing was a gentleman’s pursuit and a roaring engine was a mark of courage as much as of wealth.
1933 Bugatti Type 59
The Type 59 is a Grand Prix car dressed with a coachbuilder’s elegance. Slender and open-wheeled, it was Ettore Bugatti’s last great racing car, powered by a supercharged 3.3-litre straight-eight. Only four were produced, and all four still exist, which makes it extraordinarily rare. It was part of Lauren’s 2011 exhibition in Paris, where it stood alongside the Atlantic, and it shows the more purely competitive side of the Bugatti story. Its narrow body and exposed mechanicals feel almost delicate, yet they hide a car built for speed, and it remains one of the most beautiful racing machines of the 1930s.
McLaren F1 LM
Painted in McLaren’s famous papaya orange, the F1 LM is one of the most striking cars in the collection. It is one of only five LM commemorative editions built to celebrate McLaren’s outright victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. Compared with the standard F1, it is lighter and more extreme, with a 6.1-litre BMW V12 producing around 680 horsepower and a large rear wing that gives it a purposeful stance. It is a road car that feels very close to a race car, and it is often counted among the most desirable modern classics. Its estimated value is around $20 million.
1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic
If the collection has a crown jewel, this is it. The Type 57SC Atlantic is often called one of the most beautiful cars ever made, a flowing Art Deco shape styled by Jean Bugatti, powered by a supercharged 3.3-litre straight-eight. Only four were built, and two survive today, one of them in Lauren’s garage. Restored by Paul Russell, it won Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1990 and later took the top prize at the Concours d’Elegance Villa d’Este in 2013. Estimated at around $40 million, it is as much a work of art as a car, and the centrepiece of one of the world’s greatest private collections.
