Sunday, July 22, 2018

Gone to Paris . . .

 . . . Paris Hill that is,
 . . . as in Paris Maine.
To look at some fancy cars that are part of Bob Bahre's private collection . Mr Bahre made his fortune as the builder and proprietor of the Oxford Plains Speedway here in Maine , as well as the Loudon Speedway in New-Hampshire . Every year on Paris Hill Founders Day , the third week in July , he opens the doors for the public to view his exquisite collection of vehicles . All proceeds go to fund . .
. . .  the Hamlin Library on the grounds next to . . .
. . . his private estate on Paris Hill , which just happens to be the birthplace of Hannibal Hamlin , who served as vice president under Abraham Lincoln .
The first automobile you see in the driveway is a nicely restored Ford model A
The grounds are quite spectacular as well
The view from the top of the hill
Looking down at the building that houses the main part of the collection . The upper building just to our left as we enter the gates of the estate houses some of the earlier specimens .
The 1810 Victoria carriage that belonged to Martin Van Buren which he used while he campaigned to become the 8th President of the United States .
The 1835 Victoria Studebaker carriage used in the filming of Gone With The Wind . Yes , Clark Gable's derriere sat in that one .
A 1903 Oldsmobile
A 1914 Baker
Powered by a 48 volt General Electric motor . Got the Tesla beat by a hundred years .
A 1916 Ford Model T recent Barn Find
And just to the left of the Model T a Thomas Flyer from 1910
And to the right a Panhard Levasor also from 1910
The plaque
A Stutz Bearcat from 1914
As we make our way down the long drive to the larger building there are some cars on display outside on the outer apron .
A magnificent old bus , a 1915 Lippard-Stewart .
A Duesenberg racer
From 1931
And just next to that my favorite a  . . .
. . . 1933 Auburn Boat tail roadster . . .
The ultimate gangster car
And a 1932 Stutz
Across from it a 1929 Issota Fraschini
And skipping a couple generations a 1957 DKW
And a 1951 Studebaker
As we enter the building on the right a 1940 Mercedes Benz . . .
Once owned by the King of Norway seen here transporting Mr and Mrs Winston Churchill and the King.
And a 1940 Duesenberg , the last Dusenberg ever produced .
A 1933 Rolls-Royce
 Henley Roadster . .
a 1931 Packard
And another Packard of similar vintage
And a 1941 Packard
And another Packard from 1934
That was designed for Clark Gable
Another 1934 Packard
With in flight entertainment and libations for the passengers
And another 34 Packard Coupe
A 32 Packard
And another one from 1932
And yet another one
And another Packard
And another one . . . Packard was definitely flavor of the month
OK , finally something different , an Alfa-Romeo from 1938
The other side of the Alfa
Next to the Alfa was the 1948 Tucker engine display
a 1931 . .
Mercedes-Benz racer
And a Duesenberg Lycoming engine
Three of them actually
and a 1951 Ewing racer
and to the left of the Duesenberg engines a  . . .
1947 Delahaye
The front office on the Delahaye
Reportedly the most valuable vehicle of the collection purchased for three million dollars .
Makes the green 1934 Hispano-Suiza look pedestrian
And a 1934 Cadillac
The original Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang Mercedes . . .
One of three from 1921
 the 1915 Mercedes-Benz 230 hp inline six Aero-Engine
This is the car that inspired Ian Fleming , yes the same guy that wrote James Bond , to pen the original Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang book .
A pair of Duesenbergs the tan one a 1929 and the one on the right a 1939
A 1934 SJ Duesenberg
The interior of the 34
A 37 Duesy
The tan 32
and I'll leave you with the 1949 Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle .

I think I got most of them before the battery on my camera died . The collection is far bigger than what is seen here . Many more cars were in the restoration shop one level below the display area as well as off site , though that was not open for public viewing .

Post Script:

There were a few cars brought by visitors on display on the grounds outside the estate that I photographed as we first arrived .
A bright 1930s Packard
A nicely restored Triumph TR3
A trio of convertibles stars with the white MGA
A 64 (I think) Austin Heally 3000
A 1962 Austin Heally 3000 that once had a tree growing though it restored by Jim Begin
With a dragon wrenching on the engine.
And a slick looking BMW coupe.
OK that's it for now . . .

7 comments:

  1. Pretty spectacular. We had some old cars from the twenties and thirties up here this weekend, for some sort of festival the county put on. They were really beautiful. Of course, I didn't see anybody actually driving them in town, they were all parked on display.

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    1. Yes it was quite nice to see. A truly amazing collection. He apparently swaps cars with Jay Lenno with some frequency. Between the two of them they have the largest collections of Packards and Duesenbergs .
      PS, Just added some extra photos at the end.

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  2. Lindo paseo! To use your own words, 'A truly amazing collection'.

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  3. That is an awesome collection, It is amazing they have survived the years.
    I wonder what people will think of cars like that in a 100 years time?

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    1. Well once thing for certain is that they will never be admiring a Toyota Prius in a collection like this one.

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    2. Lol My daughter calls them a cheese wedge.

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