Ralph Lauren's Car Collection Is So Good It Was Once Displayed In The Louvre

Cars can never be art, or so the argument was made for the longest time by critics who refused to accept automotive creations as anything more than piles of metal, fabric, nuts, and bolts. Well, someone clearly forgot to tell Ralph Lauren and the team behind one of the world's most prestigious art museums, as roughly 15 years ago, the famed designer's collection (or at least part of it) was displayed at the Louvre in Paris.

The exhibition, "The Art of the Automobile," showcased 17 of Lauren's most prized possessions. It was curated by Rodolphe Rapetti, who told Top Gear: "Cars are a work of art and not just an object of utility. Of all the things we use every day, the car is the one we most care about, and the one that concentrates the maximum of technology and design, as well as delivering the maximum freedom."

The exhibition focused on the 1930s to the '60s, with the exception of a lovely McLaren F1 LM from the mid-'90s (one of only five commemorative LM editions, instead of being just another basic F1, of course). On display sat race-winning Ferarris, pioneering Bugattis, and the odd supercharged Alfa or Bentley. Anyone can buy a flash supercar, or adorn a high-spec SUV with a "look-at-me" Mansory body kit, but to be welcomed into the Louvre — or, a half-dozen years earlier, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts — your collection needs to be on another level. Ralph Lauren's is exactly that.

Unless you're Jay Leno, no car collection is complete without a smattering of Rosso Corsa or Blu Tour De France, and Ralph Lauren knows this. That's why his collection consists of some of the finest Ferraris ever made — no common trinkets like F40s or F50s, but wonderfully exclusive metal from the Italian automaker's most illustrious years.

Naturally, a 250 GTO forms part of the collection. To be precise, it's chassis 3987GT, an early example from October 1962 with four first-place finishes in its racing history. Lauren purchased the car in 1985 for a princely $650,000, although should he sell it today, he'd make millions — more than enough to treat himself to a few celebratory polo shirts. Should you fancy one of your own, Ralph Lauren will sell you a much smaller version for an equally reduced price just shy of $3,000.

Not one to just tick the box and move on, Lauren ensured a number of other wonderfully collectible Ferraris were displayed alongside the GTO. An LM and Testa Rossa model were chosen for the exhibition, both also of the 250 persuasion. His Scaglietti-penned Testa Rossa is the 14th of 34 ever made, and it hails from the late 1950s, whereas his 250 LM is a little later. Completed in late 1964, the LM is a sleek, seldom-spotted racer with a storied history, and it's been part of the collection since the 1980s. Should either of these Ferraris come up for sale, it's at least an eight-figure sum you'd be needing.

While on the topic of big values — spoiler alert, a recurring theme — why not visit Ralph Lauren's awesome collection of Bugattis. Proudly displayed at the Louvre was Lauren's 1933 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix car, a wonderfully diminutive racer from a fascinating era of world motorsport.

The Type 59 is impossibly rare — just four were ever produced — and they all still exist. Powering these exquisite cars is a supercharged 3.3-liter inline-8 engine. It continues the lineage of the all-important Type 35 that came before it, although with more horsepower. Good choice, Ralph.

Not a car that's easily overshadowed, although here it was, as alongside it sat arguably Lauren's most famous possession — his one-of-just-2½ Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. Lauren owns the last of four ever produced, a 1938 car known as the Pope Atlantic, as its first owner was the Briton R.B. Pope.

Of the other examples, two were sold privately, and one was kept for Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore Bugatti. One is known as the Rothschild Atlantic, and we'll let you figure out why, while the other privately sold example was crashed many years ago. It has been rebuilt since, but some parts — including the engine — were unsalvageable, hence the idea that only 2½ remain.

As for Jean's Type 57, it has been lost to history for the best part of a century. Should it ever resurface, Bugatti estimates that the sum required to own it would exceed $100 million.

With a smattering of classic Ferraris and Bugattis, it's clear that Ralph Lauren enjoys a car with a motorsport connection. That's also obvious when you take a look at the British cars chosen for the Louvre exhibition. Among them were a Jaguar D-Type, Jaguar XK120, "Blower" Bentley, and of course, the aforementioned Mclaren.

Kicking off with the fast cats, Jaguars don't come better than these. His D-Type is a 1955 example, achieving sixth place at the 1957 Le Mans race, which is pretty impressive provenance. Few racers, even from this period, are as smooth and sleek as this classic Jag, although his ex-works XK120 Lightweight Roadster gives it a good run for its money. Probably why that was also included in the exhibit.

Moving on from the Jags, we have Lauren's 1929 "Blower" Bentley. Under the hood lies a supercharged (hence the name) 4.4-liter inline-4, which kicks out 240 horsepower to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission. We say "under the hood," but famously these Bentleys have the supercharger protruding from the front of the car, giving them a distinctive appearance.

The odd one out at this exhibition was Ralph's Mclaren F1 LM. It hails from an entirely different era than the other cars, and arguably its bodywork isn't quite so beautiful or evocative. However, it's a Mclaren F1 LM — a car worth in the neighborhood of $20 million — so who's going to complain about it going on display? Not us, that's for sure. It's surely the most celebrated modern machine to ever hit the road, and more than deserving of its place among these older treasures.

It's a mistake to assume that all the best Italian classics are Prancing Horse models, and that's not a mistake Ralph Lauren has made, as demonstrated by other cherished classics once displayed at the Louvre. Among his huge classic car collection sits a duo of fantastic old Alfa Romeos, both with awesome racing heritage.

On display alongside the more obvious Italians sat a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Mille Miglia; a supercharged eight-cylinder treasure from a time now all but forgotten. Finished in a bold shade of distinctively Italian red, this twin-supercharged Alfa looks as beautiful as it does brutish. Just three were ever made, they took all podium positions at the 1938 Le Mans race, and only two remain today. Lauren arguably owns the most desirable survivor, as it still retains its original body; without a doubt this is a seriously expensive unicorn, and well worth being displayed alongside the finest Prancing Horses.

Parked next to the 8C was, well, another 8C, but this time an earlier 2300 Monza example hailing from 1931. Spindly wire wheels and far less metalwork clearly denote this as the earlier car, and during these earlier years, the model racked up more than 50 victories at the hands of some of history's most storied drivers.

After visiting Italy, France, and Britain, let's complete the set and take a gander at some of Ralph Lauren's finest German offerings. You'll find no tricked-out G Wagens or M BMWs here. Rather, his collection includes gems such as the 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK "Count Trossi," a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, and a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder. Clearly, '55 was a great year for sports cars.

Starting off with the three-pointed stars, Lauren's SSK is a particularly beautiful car, with a brilliantly interesting history. Under its hood is an engine deserving of being on display, a 7.1-liter supercharged inline-6, but it's the body that makes this particular SSK special. Only around 30 SSKs were ever made, and Italian Count Carlo Felice Trossi — the original owner — made good use of his. After using it competitively, he decided in 1932 to sketch out a new body, which was completed by 1934. Finished in all black, this is surely what Batman would have picked at the time, and 90-odd years on, it's just as awe-inspiring to see.

Lauren's other German classics are a little more widely known. Anyone with even a passing interest in older cars will be familiar with the 300SL, his being the iconic gullwing-doored coupe model. As for the Porsche 550 Spyder, it's a model that has been widely replicated, but of course the one featured here was an original — the 61st of just 90 ever built. It sports a diminutive 1.5-liter flat-4 engine, and the little two-seater was always destined to race. Fortunately, 1.5 liters and 110 horsepower was plenty, thanks to the 550's 1,500-pound curb weight.