Straight Rock ‘N’ Roll
This week, I had the pleasure of visiting Classic Car Club: Manhattan with my buddy Danny Choy who writes for Flappy Paddle Heads. CCC Manhattan is a spin off of Classic Car Club London, Lithuania, and Copenhagen. There are currently two NYC locations, one is just off Canal St. on the lower west side and one is on the upper east side. We visited the lower west side location. It’s my new favorite place in New York.
Simply put, it’s a members only exotic and classic car rental company. But if you step into their lower west side showroom (which is also their lounge, shop, car wash station and office) you’ll find it’s so much more than a car rental company.
Inside, they have a bar next to an automotive video game center with couches. They have deals for almost anyone and they just dropped their entry level prices by almost half; $4,500/yr. Even better, they allow you to split membership with another person.
When I walked in off the street (which they encourage), my automotive senses were aroused. First, you see dozens of amazing cars parked inches from each other. Then, you breathe in the smell of rubber, oil, gas, & exhaust fumes. Then you hear the heavenly sound of tuned exhausts randomly starting up as members drive out the side door in their choice for the day. This place is straight rock ‘n’ roll.
Go to their site and click the “our cars” tab and you can see their entire inventory, which includes some supercars and some classic cars. But there’s nothing like seeing all the cars in the same place, being displayed, worked on, and washed. It’s a behind the scenes process out in the open. It’s raw, in a good way.
They have such a diverse inventory. A little something for everyone and everything is special in its own way.
At the lower west side location they have; their own Ariel Atom which has CCC decals, a Shelby Mustang GT350, an Alfa Romeo GTV which is an employee favorite, a beautiful deep blue Ferrari 458 Italia, a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 replica set up for racing with a roll cage, a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, a Shelby Cobra replica, a Delorean DMC-12, a Ford Bronco convertible, a Pontiac Firebird convertible, a first year Acura NSX, an M3 powered BMW 2002, I mean, the list goes on (more of their inventory photos on Flickr & Facebook).
The Club covers insurance, maintenance, and an unlimited amount of miles. So members get the benefit of driving an array of great cars without the having to buy and maintain them all. Pretty cool concept.
And these cars just don’t sit in a warehouse for some rich man to lock away for a half century, they are not only meant to be parked for admiration. They’re meant to be driven and enjoyed by many.
Thanks to Jeannette and Adam for talking with us and allowing us to spend hours admiring the showroom.
