(Words and Photos by Joe Grippo) I was vacationing in sunny Florida a few months ago attending the Amelia Island Concourse d’Elegance and NHRA Baby Gators among other adventures. While staying in Jacksonville, we hit up the Brumos Collection, a real hidden gem of an automotive museum, tucked away on a beautifully landscaped parcel and housed in an equally gorgeous vintage factory inspired building. While the Brumos name is synonymous with Porsche a big part of the collection boasts an incredible selection of Indianapolis 500 and other racing history. The walkway to the entrance is modeled after a turn of the century boardtrack, which is a hint to the level of detail contained inside. Upon entering the lobby with its brick lined walls and warm inviting accoutrements, you immediately are greeted by the 1963 Meskowski Champ Car driven by A.J. Foyt. That sets the tone for what’s to come when entering the main room.

The Brumos Collection is home to a bunch of significant Harry Miller built racers, if you don’t know who he is, google him, and be amazed. The craftsmanship on these racing machines from the 1920’s and 30’s is impressive, and the restorations are stunning. The display cases showoff tons of period parts, trophies, and memorabilia. History surrounds you in this joint, from original wood bucks for early Winfield and Miller speed parts to a huge collection of killer old tether cars, cool shit is everywhere. I mentioned Foyt earlier, he is also represented by the ultra-cool Kurtis Novi Special, a magnificent piece of engineering. I stared at this thing so long my wife got bored and walked away and the helpful staff might have got a little nervous. And what would an Indy Car collection be without a Watson Roadster, check out the sexy Konstant Hot Special.

More about Brumos, in 1953 Herbert Brundage started Brundage Motors (Bru Mos) as a Volkswagen importer, by 1959 they were a full-on Porsche dealership. Race car driver Peter Gregg acquired Brumos in the mid 60’s and went racing. As the seventies rolled along and with the addition of ace wheel man Hurley Haywood, the Brumos team had very successful efforts at Can-Am, Sebring and the 54 Hours of Daytona among others. Gregg passed in the early 80’s and with a succession of owners, raced well into the 2010’s with a variety of Daytona Prototype Porsches. A still operational race/restoration shop is in house and is a spotless well-equipped workspace that any BangShifter would be in complete envy of, plus it’s large enough to park two haulers and hang cars from the ceiling. Porsche is the center piece of the Collection, make no mistake. A mind-blowing group of 911, 917, 908, 962 race cars and more are sure to make your knees weak, and don’t sleep on the Tractor. The hero 917 from the Steve McQueen film Le Mans is surreal sitting there resplendent in its Gulf livery. This was a test car before becoming the King of Cool’s co-star in the 1971 movie. I geeked out so much I posed for a picture with it. Dork.

One thing further I want to mention, the visitor experience at the Brumos Collection is second to none. First the cars are not roped off and unobstructed, this allows great camera access for detail shots and close examination. Each vehicle on display has an inconspicuous iPad style stanchion near the car with detailed information over multiple screens. It was a fantastic way to learn more detail and history of each car while not obstructing the car with printed signs. A much better execution and again really added to the experience. Other museums hopefully will take note.

If you are ever in the Jacksonville area, this is a must visit. Hours vary and they are not open every day so plan ahead, you won’t regret it. In the meantime, dig into the gallery for more.

The Brumos Collection

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