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By David Roeder Business Reporter – droeder@suntimes.com
Press Release Date: 9/7/2011
It’s not every day that Chicago gets a new museum, but one is on the way, polished and ready for its close-up with the city’s car-ogling public.
It’s a museum for classic autos and the person driving it is Larry Klairmont, an 84-year-old real estate investor and former Marine.
Klairmont, chief executive of Imperial Realty Co., plans to open the museum Sept. 2..
The Larry Klairmont Collection– Chicago, Illinois Date: 10/3/2011
Larry Klairmont seems like the kind of dude we want to have a beer with. At 85-years old, the highly successful real estate developer has amassed a collection of more the 300 cars. He keeps it open to the public and has all the cars stored in a bitchin’ building he had spruced up and decorated in all kinds of period Americana. Klairmont’s tastes seem to run like ours. If it makes noise a..
By Joe Bortz 8/5/2011
When I was 15 years old I was very proud of the fact that people took me for 18, I felt that it had its advantages and allowed me to do things that required you to be 18 years old — like impressing the girls with my maturity. When you are younger you want to be older and of course when the years are creeping up you want to be younger.Larry Klairmont is 84 now. He’s a legend in Chicago real estate, a former marine and now one of Chicago’s biggest car colle..
1924 Pierce-Arrow Model 33
For more than three decades, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car of Buffalo New York, was among the most respected and renowned automakers in america. The rich gray tones of the limo has been the beneficiary of a full-bodied restoration by Eric Roseneu, a long-time Pierce Arrow restorer. The body was rewooded and correctly modified. The wheels were respoked and increased to 25 inch diameter. The inline 6-cylinder, T-head engine was rebuilt. The front seat is in lea..
1953 Jaguar XK 120 Drophead Coupe
The Earl’s Court Motor Show in 1948 debuted the XK120 and created a sensation! Originally the car was conceived as a low volume care but was destined to become one of the most celebrated sports cars of all times, thus 12,000 were produced from 1948-54.
Sir Williams Lyons designed the elegant curves and called it the XK Model suggesting a 120 mph top speed. Powered by a 3.4 Liter 6-cylinder engine with 160 HP, the XK was the fastest produ..
Only 1285 of these care were built. Cadillac broke a production record for the year, which was good after the 59 steel strike! This sleek body with the distinctive fins is a factory black car, meaning it is all original.
This Barritz model has factory air conditioning, a parade boot, power windows and seats, power vent windows and classic wheels.
This BMW stands among the most exclusive pre-war classics as it shares the same legendary coachwork as the Bugatti “La Royale”. The sheet metal used is virtually indistinguishable and is a perfect marriage of early automotive performance and luxury.
The 319 had 55 HP which allowed the car to go 85 mph and thus, it became a significant competitor in motorsport events in Germany and Europe. Only 102 of the 319 were ever built and the price tag put it out of reach for most of the m..
This extraordinary, outrageous, 50’s styling of the Cadillac sweeping fins couldn’t be out done by Chrysler! The convertibles were the best and a record 11,130 series 62 were sold. As with any extreme design, people either loved or hated them, and the survival rate was low until they became icons of the past. Today, they are rare in the market and highly sought after. The 59 Cadillac is the epitome of radical styling. This car has been expertly restored with all new white leather seats, red ..
A car worthy of its name, This only survivor of the make has a history that mazes all! Edward V. Rickenbaker drove early Dusenberg race cars, was a teammate of the great Barney Oldfield, entered WWI and proceeded to become the top flying ace with 26 confirmed kills. He returned home as a celebrity, wrote a book, appeared in the society pages, and decided why not build a car? In business with a group of Detroit car veterans, Rickenbaker became the sales promoter but saw to it that the car had ..