Akin to splurging on a first-class airline ticket or tasting an exceptional glass of wine, it’s never easy “going back” to what you can realistically afford. The same can be said of car shows; enjoy an afternoon on the lawns at Pebble Beach, and you’ve just raised the bar, for better and for worse, to appreciating the automobile. Hence it was with some surprise that I was impressed after attending a local car gathering held of all places, at a car storage facility. But to be fair, this is the opulent world of Southern California car culture, so leave those visions of an old Sears building behind.
Meet Tony Principe
Behind most novel ventures is a person that found a way to create reality out of a fleeting thought. For both the car storage facility named Finish Line Auto Club and the Art of the Automobile show, this would be Tony Principe. As he explained, he and his father started buying and rehabbing distressed commercial properties in 1994. As real estate in Southern California tends to be at a premium, they combined its demand and industry knowledge to build a successful business.
A new idea
Being cars guys with no more room left in their garages, Tony and his dad couldn’t resist the temptation in 2000 to keep a few of the spaces in one of their buildings for themselves. As they spoke to their car buddies, they realized how others had the same challenge of finding space in a secure location, hence the incentive to create Finish Line Auto Club; a “country club” of sorts designed for car guys, by car guys. Members buy their spaces (car condos) and create their own vision of the ultimate man cave. A common lounge area encourages socializing and is used for private events etc. Tony’s first location in Westlake was so successful that a second was built near John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
Art of the Automobile
Because the Orange County Finish Line has a large indoor ally down the center of the building, Tony figured it was time to hold a car show among the owners, so Art of the Automobile was born. The first edition was held in 2022, themed Evolution of Design. Tony himself picked the cars among the condo owners with the goal of placing the first and last of the same model next to each other (e.g. 1965 Porsche 911 next to a new 911). This year’s show was titled “Beauty in Design” and aimed to show early race and touring cars alongside their contemporary counterparts (imagine a Ford GT-40 next to a modern Ford GT).
As for the cars on display, the variety was huge, and almost all of them simply came from the collections of the unit owners at Finish Line. Some cars were literally rolled out of their units onto the show aisle. Some of my favorites were a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, a 1927 Bugatti Type 35B, and a 1967 Gurney Eagle F1 racer. Oh…and I guess I shouldn’t forget an original condition, Shelby Cobra! A full list of entrants is as follows:
| Make | Model |
| Accura | 1991 Acura NSX |
| Alfa Romeo | 1982 GTV6 |
| Alfa Romeo | Alfa 8C 2900b Short Chassis |
| Alfa Romeo | Alfa Zagato |
| Alfa Romeo | Alfa Zagato |
| Alfa Romeo | Junior Zagato 1600 |
| Aston Martin | 1991 Virage Coupe |
| Bentley | 1925 Bentley |
| Bugatti | 1927 Bugatti Type 35b |
| Bugatti | 2015 Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse |
| Chevy | 1963 Corvette Split window |
| Chrysler | 300 C |
| Duesenberg | Duesenberg |
| Ferrari | 1954 625 F1 |
| Ferrari | 1957 250 Testarossa |
| Ferrari | 1992 512 TR |
| Ferrari | 2015 F12 |
| Ferrari | 250 TDF Prototype |
| Ferrari | 275 GTB |
| Ferrari | 62 Lusso Comp |
| Ferrari | Barchetta |
| Ferrari | Daytona Comp |
| Ferrari | F12 TDF |
| Ford | 1925 Ford Truck |
| Ford | 1956 TBird convertible |
| Ford | 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina |
| Ford | 65 Cobra |
| Ford | 65 Shelby |
| Ford | 67 GT40 MK3 |
| Guntherwerks | 2023 Turbo |
| Jaguar | 1965 e-type roadster |
| Laganda | 1938 Lagonda V12 LeMans |
| Lamborghini | 1991 Diablo |
| Lamborghini | 2021 Aventador SVJ Roadster |
| Lancia | 1958 Aurelia B24S Convertible |
| Lincoln | 1940 Lincoln Zephyr V-12 |
| Lincoln | 40 Woody |
| McLaren | 2014 McLaren P1 |
| Mercedes Benz | 300 SL Gullwing |
| Pagani | Pagani BC |
| Porche | 2019 GT3 |
| Porsche | 959 |
| Porsche | 1986 930 Turbo |
| Porsche | 1994 C4 factory Widebody |
| Porsche | 53 VW/Porsche |
| Porsche | 95 GT2 |
| Porsche | 964 RSR |
| Porsche | Brumos 934.5 |
| Porsche | Carrera GT |
| Porsche | Puma |
| Racecar | 67 Gurney Eagle IF1 |
| Ranford | Radford Type 62-2 |
Conclusion
While Pebble, Amelia, Goodwood, and Lake Como all have their place in the elite world of the Automobile, the casual atmosphere and quality cars left me with a fresh experience I look forward to repeating next year. Tony Principe set out to fulfill a niche in the car enthusiast world and created so much more. Well done.
Gallery
