The Brumos Collection opens showroom with Steve McQueen’s Porsche 917K

For years, The Brumos Collection was kept private and stored in spare space at the Brumos car dealerships in Jacksonville, Florida. What started as a small array of specialty vehicles grew to be an extensive museum-like assortment that included racecars and eventually historic rides from various legendary brands. With no space left, the only fair option was to give these hunks of metal, plastic, and rubber their own proper displays. The Brumos Collection, now its own experience, is housed in a building modeled after an old Ford plant and features Steve McQueen’s Porsche 917K from Le Mans, a 1914 Peugeot L45, and a Porsche 917-10, among others.

Designed by Jaycox Architects and Associates, the new building features a brick exterior with large front windows and triangular skylights. These looks were intentionally incorporated as homages to one of Henry Ford’s Ford Motor Company assembly plants that used to live on the St. Johns River in downtown East Jacksonville. Photos shows the parallels to what the building looked like in the 1924 and the modern design.

Inside, the museum collection displays cars, artifacts, and historic documents in both static and interactive exhibitions. Some of the most notable rides include a 1968 Porsche 908, a 1920 Miller TNT, a 1925 Bugatti Type 35, a Porsche 550 Spyder, a 1910 Lion Peugeot Voiturette V2Y2, a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Lungo Spider, a 1963 Formcar Formula Vee, a 1958 Watson Sprint car, Peugeots, Offenhausers, and many more.

The Brumos Collection refuses to call itself a museum, but it serves a similar focus and mission. “Our goal is to share these cars and related history with you to increase generational awareness of automotive history,” a Facebook post says. ”The Brumos Collection imparts a sweeping story of automotive development through racing,” a separate description details.

The collection’s first public day is on January 23, 2020 and the showroom will be open every Thursday and Friday. Tickets can be purchased online only, as no walk-ups are allowed. Seniors, children, and military tickets cost $15, while the regular price is $20. For more information on the cars in the collection visit The Brumos Collection Instagram.