The nobility of Mr. Ion Țiriac’s passion

In August, Mr. Ion Țiriac shared his passion for classic cars during an interview with Gentleman’s Car magazine, conducted at the Țiriac Collection exhibition gallery.

"Small steps, soft voices, a faint echo, and plastic shoe covers over your shoes. Shiny black tiles and an air heavy with history and passion. A scent of aged leather overwhelms you, bringing back childhood memories - of trips to the countryside, sitting in the back seat of a Skoda 100, driven a bit too boldly by a silver-haired grandfather. From the ceiling hang dozens, maybe hundreds, of hat-shaped lights casting a cool glow over what is known as the Țiriac Collection. For those in love with the mysterious world of automobiles, the Țiriac Collection gallery is like a dream - a monument dedicated to a mechanical love affair. It is built from wheels, engines, gearboxes, and the alluring shapes imagined, sculpted, and masterfully transformed into cars by coachbuilders of a bygone era. These valuable, high-performance objects have become childhood idols and adult aspirations.

It is remarkable how such a place, magnificent through the treasures it holds, has risen from the asphalt of Bucharest. It is equally remarkable how, almost overnight, this gallery has placed Bucharest on the world’s automotive map.

And it all comes down to one man. A man with a passion and the determination to turn that passion into reality. A man whose powerful voice echoes through the cars around him. 'I have always loved cars. Unfortunately, I never really had time for them. For 50 years, I traveled the world from morning until night—I didn’t sleep in the same bed for more than four or five days at a time for decades. But when I could afford it—only after the 1970s - I started buying cars. In 1969, which was my best year, winning 17 tournaments, I earned a total of $5,000 and bought my first Mercedes—a 280S. I remember it was an S because it had carburetors, and mechanics in Romania knew how to work on them. Fuel injection had just come out, and if something broke, no one could fix it.

I have always been a big fan of Ferrari and have constantly bought cars, keeping them stored in places where I sometimes forget about them. Now, I can’t wait for my LaFerrari to arrive. I had to speak with Montezemolo four times to get one - because if you haven’t bought 10 Ferraris and at least one in the last 18 months, they won’t sell it to you. He said, “Ion, we invented a new rule just for you! Luckily, you bought the F12 three months ago, otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to give it to you,”’Mr. Țiriac tells us.