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Auctions

Hollywood on Wheels: Bonhams’ “Movie Cars Collection from Paris” Brings Film Icons to the Auction Block

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a piece of movie history—and not just a signed poster or replica prop, but the actual metal that burned rubber on-screen—Bonhams has your kind of blockbuster. Between November 21 and 28, the auction house is hosting The Movie Cars Collection from Paris, a once-in-a-lifetime sale of some of the most recognizable vehicles ever to appear on film.

The collection features around 50 cars and 19 cinematic artifacts, most of them with no reserve. These aren’t promotional replicas built for mall tours—they’re genuine, camera-ready machines that have shared scenes with stars like Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Keanu Reeves, and even Will Smith. Bonhams has done its homework, clearly labeling which vehicles were used on set and which were later stunt or show cars. The result? A lineup that reads like a Hollywood car hall of fame.

The Headliners: Fast, Furious, and Unforgettable

Leading the charge is a 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, the very same silver-and-blue hero car driven by Paul Walker’s Brian O’Connor in 2 Fast 2 Furious. Bonhams expects this piece of tuner royalty to fetch between €250,000 and €500,000. It’s reportedly the only genuine Evo used in the film, complete with a 335-horsepower heart and all the street-racer attitude that defined early-2000s car culture.

Not far behind in fan appeal is a 1970 Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 7. While it’s not the original car from the 2001 film, it was used during the rooftop garage sequence and remains a true on-screen veteran. Purists may flinch at the modern Chevy LS3 V8 swap under the hood, but there’s no denying it still looks—and sounds—like pure Dom Toretto thunder. Expected hammer price: €150,000–€250,000.

And because one Charger is never enough, the auction also includes the “Off-Road” version from the same film, lifted and ready to rumble through cinematic chaos. Think of it as a muscle car that took one too many protein shakes.

The Continental Shift: John Wick’s Mustang and More

Action fans with a taste for something American yet more refined will appreciate the 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 from John Wick: Chapter 2. It’s one of five cars built for the production, and the fourth used in filming—specifically during the brutal opening chase sequence. With its battered elegance and movie-proven stamina, Bonhams pegs it at €100,000–€200,000.

There’s also a 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu from Drive, the stoic, sun-bleached machine that Ryan Gosling’s silent antihero used to cruise the neon-lit streets of Los Angeles. Estimate: €60,000–€80,000—not bad for something that doubled as both a getaway car and a character study in minimalism.

Sci-Fi Icons and Cult Classics

Bonhams didn’t stop at tire smoke and stunt scars. The sale also honors sci-fi and satire, with rarities like Gene Winfield’s 1982 “Everyman’s Car” from Blade Runner, expected to fetch €20,000–€30,000, and the Police Cruiser from Back to the Future Part II in the same price range.

Fans of dystopian humor can even bid on the absurd SUX 6000 from RoboCop—a fiberglass parody of Detroit excess, valued between €30,000 and €50,000. For those who prefer alien chases over corporate dystopias, there’s the 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria from Men in Black, the very government-issued ride that chauffeured Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones through encounters of the extraterrestrial kind. Estimated at €20,000–€40,000, it’s probably the only car here with a known history of “neuralyzing” its passengers.

European Flavor: Peugeot, BMW, and a Touch of Nostalgia

France takes a proud bow with two icons of Gallic cinema: the 1999 Peugeot 406 V6 from Taxi 2—valued at €70,000–€120,000—and the Peugeot 407 from Taxi 5, a relative bargain at €3,000–€6,000. The 406, in particular, is a national treasure—equal parts taxi and time capsule of late-’90s French car culture.

Rounding out the European offerings is a 1995 BMW 750i, a lovingly crafted homage to the gadget-laden 750iL from Tomorrow Never Dies. Though not a screen-used Bond car, it’s a convincing tribute to Pierce Brosnan’s Q-enhanced ride, with a very approachable estimate of €15,000–€20,000.

The Batmobile and the General Lee: Legends Reimagined

No cinematic car collection would be complete without Gotham’s most famous ride. Bonhams delivers with a 1992 Warner Batmobile “1989”, styled after Tim Burton’s gothic masterpiece and used in the Batman Stunt Show at Six Flags Great Adventure. It’s a full-size, fan-service machine with an expected price tag between €70,000 and €100,000.

And, in a blaze of orange nostalgia, the auction also features the 1968 Dodge Charger “General Lee” from The Dukes of Hazzard (2005). This genuine film-used car wears its signature hue proudly and is predicted to bring €120,000–€160,000.

Popcorn, Petrol, and Provenance

Bonhams’ Movie Cars Collection from Paris isn’t just an auction—it’s a time capsule of cinematic horsepower. Whether your dream garage includes a JDM legend, a Hollywood muscle car, or a sci-fi relic, this event is a rare opportunity to own a tangible piece of movie magic.

And in a world where so many movie “props” are CGI pixels, these cars are the real deal—steel, gasoline, and a dash of Hollywood stardust.

If you’ve got the means, this might be your moment to bring a bit of the silver screen home. Just be ready for your driveway to turn into a film set.

Source: Bonhams

News

The Alabama Time Capsule: 1,300 Cars, One Man, and Decades of Dust

Somewhere in the heart of Alabama, down a long gravel drive and behind a set of sun-faded steel gates, sits what might be America’s greatest forgotten treasure. Not gold. Not oil. Cars. More cars than you can count without running out of daylight — roughly 1,300 of them, quietly aging like fine bourbon in the Southern heat.

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill barn find. This is the mother lode. A mechanical time capsule, sealed off from the world for decades, recently unearthed by the good folks at Hagerty. And now, it’s about to explode onto the auction scene with no reserve — meaning every single one of these relics, from battered Buicks to pristine Porsches, will find a new home.

The Man Who Collected Time

The architect behind this monument to motoring excess is Greg Rusk, a quiet businessman with a louder obsession. His father, Bobby Rusk, founded Rusken Packaging in 1974 — a family enterprise that apparently left Greg with both the means and the warehouse space to pursue his true calling: hoarding cars like a dragon hoards gold.

His collecting philosophy? Simple: buy a car, drive it for a weekend, then park it — forever. What started as a weekend indulgence evolved into a decades-long accumulation of automotive history. Each car, a frozen moment from America’s motoring past.

The Generous Collection

Over the years, Rusk’s taste wandered through the eras — Cadillacs one decade, Chevrolets the next, Trans Ams after that. The result? A field of chrome and steel that tells the story of postwar America, one V8 at a time.

More than 200 cars from the aptly nicknamed Generous Collection are heading to auction this month, with another thousand or so waiting their turn. The mix is extraordinary: some are show-ready, others look like they’ve just returned from a duel with time itself.

Among the highlights is a 1998 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am — gold, glorious, and only 83,000 kilometres on the clock. Then there’s a 1953 Pontiac Chieftain, a 1956 Cadillac Sedan de Ville, and a Chevrolet C10 V8 that still smells faintly of sawdust and Southern summers.

And it’s not all Detroit steel. Parked among the muscle are global greats: a 1953 Jaguar XK120, an ’89 Mazda RX-7 Turbo with an LS1 heart transplant, a ’95 Toyota Celica ST Coupe, and a 1967 Porsche 911 Coupe — the kind of cosmopolitan mix that would make any concours crowd weak at the knees.

Beauty, Decay, and Possibility

Of course, these cars have been sitting for years, gathering stories and dust in equal measure. Some still gleam; others need more than just a quick oil change and a prayer. But that’s part of the allure. Buying one of Rusk’s cars is like rescuing history — with a socket wrench.

There’s risk, sure. Rubber dries. Paint fades. Engines seize. But for the right kind of enthusiast, that’s not a warning — it’s an invitation.

Because when the dust settles in Alabama and the auctioneer’s gavel falls, hundreds of machines will be reborn. And somewhere out there, new owners will turn old keys, hear those first stubborn coughs of ignition, and awaken sleeping giants that have waited decades for another chance to run.

Final Gear

In a world of electric silence and subscription-based horsepower, Greg Rusk’s collection is a thunderous reminder of what driving used to mean — raw, loud, gloriously imperfect.

So if you’ve ever dreamed of unearthing your own piece of motoring history, Alabama just became the most interesting place on Earth. Bring your trailer, your toolkit, and maybe a tetanus shot.

The Generous Collection is about to go back on the road — one resurrection at a time.

Source: Hagerty via YouTube

News

Porsche Heaven: The Architect Who Built a House for His Cars

When your Porsche collection outgrows your home, what do you do? If you’re renowned architect Steven Harris, you don’t move the cars — you build them their own house.

In the sun-drenched calm of Rancho Mirage, California, Harris’s latest architectural masterpiece stands as a sleek, low-slung vision of modernist perfection. Its flat roofs and vast glass walls blur the line between indoors and out, while the hazy San Jacinto Mountains rise in the distance like a watercolor backdrop. But beneath that minimalist dream lies something truly extraordinary — an underground garage that would make any car enthusiast weak at the knees.

Down there, under the manicured lawns and desert silence, sits a collection of around 20 Porsches, perfectly aligned like museum pieces — except they’re not museum pieces. They’re living, breathing machines, driven regularly and lovingly by the man who designed their home.

A Lifelong Obsession

Harris’s Porsche passion runs deep. “I still remember how it smelled, what it sounded like, and everything about it,” he says of the first 356 his uncle bought when he was just eight. That moment — the sound, the scent, the shape — etched itself into his memory.

Later, his father’s 1967 911 S became the teenage Harris’s initiation into Porsche driving, even serving as the car he used for his driving test. “When I went to university, I somehow convinced him he should let me take it,” he laughs. “That’s where the obsession started.”

Fast-forward through decades of architectural acclaim — and a teaching career that’s spanned nearly half a century at Yale University — and Harris has built not just homes for clients, but for himself… and his cars.

Designing the Ultimate Garage

The architect’s new Rancho Mirage home began, quite literally, from the ground down. “I started with the garage,” Harris explains. “The columns, the structure — all based on fitting two cars between each.”

The result is an underground automotive cathedral, immaculately organized so every car can be accessed without moving another. “It’s a garage, not a museum,” Harris insists. Though with its polished concrete floors, soft lighting, and clean geometry, you could easily mistake it for one.

Because of local building restrictions, Harris was limited to three surface-level bays — so he built an elevator to lower cars into the subterranean collection. The result? Every Porsche is just a button-press away from daylight and a quick blast up the twisting Route 74 that climbs from Palm Desert to Idyllwild.

“I go driving almost every morning before sunrise,” he says. “My GT2 RS is too fast for the road, and the 1957 356 A Carrera GT Speedster not fast enough — so it’s all about balance and mood.”

The Collection: Light, Pure, Uncompromising

Harris’s garage isn’t about quantity — though it’s home to over 50 Porsches — but about purity of purpose. Nearly every car is a lightweight, competition-bred variant: stripped, focused, and engineered for one thing only — driving pleasure.

The line-up reads like Porsche’s greatest hits: a 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7, the ultimate evolution of the original 911; a 911 Carrera RS (964) — “what God meant when he said analog,” Harris quips — plus rarities like a Light Green 911 Carrera RS 3.0, one of just 52 ever made to homologate the RSR racer.

Then there’s a Paint to Sample Chartreuse 911 GT3 RS 4.0 (997), a 911 GT2 (993), and two generations of the GT2 RS — both 997 and 991. All built with the same principle Harris applies to his architecture: function first, form through purpose.

“I’m suspicious of architectural fashion,” he says. “Porsche evolves slowly and precisely. No unnecessary details. No excess. My architecture is the same — every part serves a purpose.”

Driven, Not Displayed

For Harris, collecting isn’t about ownership — it’s about stewardship. “I see myself more as a caretaker,” he says. “I’ll look after them for someone else one day.”

He doesn’t let them gather dust, either. Harris has taken his 356 on rallies across South America and even the grueling Peking to Paris endurance event. He uses his modern 911s to drive to project sites across California, even when it’s “the least efficient way” to get there.

Because for Harris, efficiency isn’t the point — experience is. “I don’t want to die with a bunch of cars that have 27 miles on them,” he says.

The House That Passion Built

Perhaps the most poetic thing about Harris’s creation is how it flips the traditional order of design. “It’s not a house with a basement,” he says with a grin. “It’s the other way around. The garage came first.”

It’s a line that perfectly sums up his life’s work: thoughtful design driven by emotion and precision. The cars and the architecture are inseparable — each a reflection of the other.

In the end, Harris hasn’t just built a house for his Porsches. He’s built a home about them — a sanctuary where passion, design, and engineering coexist in perfect symmetry.

In a world where luxury often means excess, Steven Harris proves that true sophistication lies in focus. A man, his cars, and a house designed not to impress, but to express. Porsche would be proud.

Source: Porsche