A style-driven collection

PORTSMOUTH — Gunther and Maggie Buerman have a vision that involves converting a former missile manufacturing plant on the Raytheon Co. campus into a car museum — and so much more.

"I flunked retirement," said the 73-year old former chairman of a major New York law firm, avid sailor and classic car and furniture collector.

The 114,000-square-foot space has been gutted and an ambitious floor plan is being created that includes separate showrooms, event spaces, a library and storage space for about 60 cars, according to Wayne Lee, facility manager. The plan is to open The Newport Car Museum in June.

Buerman's collection of some 50 cars includes numerous examples of classic Chevrolet Corvettes and Ford Mustangs which have been assigned separate but connected spaces. "I love American cars, big muscle cars," he said.

Maggie Buerman said the ambitious project will be style driven, with many of the furnishings coming from her husband's collection of mid-20th century furniture. She cited such iconic designers as Americans Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen and Hans Wegner of Denmark and the American design and manufacturing company Knoll Inc., founded by German-American Hans Knoll and his wife Florence.

In addition, the walls will be decorated with large photographs and informative videos. 

"It's more of an art museum than a car museum," said Buerman, adding that he considered classic cars as works of art. He said they were modeling the styling and presentation of the museum on such examples as the National Auto Museum in Reno, Nevada; the private Ralph Lauren Car Collection in Westchester County, New York; and the Revs Institute in Naples, Florida. 

And he said he was not concerned about there being two car museums in the Newport area, the other being the Audrain Automobile Museum on Bellevue Avenue, in Newport, which opened about two years ago. "It's like having two restaurants in town," he said, adding he expected to attract visitors, including car clubs and bus tours which would visit both museums. And with catering available, he added the museum will be marketed for such events as conferences, rehearsal dinners and weddings.

While he has always owned classic cars, Buerman said he started collecting seriously about 12 years ago. His Corvettes range from the original 1953 model, a 1957 model with fuel injection, a 1963 with the split rear window, a 1967 with a 427 cubic inch, 435 horsepower engine, a 1990 ZR1 and a 2017 Z06. 

Other classics include a 1965 Mustang that had belonged to an uncle, a 1970 Boss 429 Mustang and a 1965 Shelby GT 350 R Mustang.

Other cars include a Plum Crazy (purple) Plymouth Challenger Hellcat which, with a 707-horsepower supecharged Hemi V8, is the most powerful car on the road. Close by was a Plum Crazy 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda. Meanwhile, Buerman said a restored 1965 Shelby 427 SC Cobra formerly belonged to a member of the Walton family of Walmart fame.

The collection also includes a number of "fin cars" which will have their own display spaces. They include a bright yellow 1954 Buick Skylark, a pale blue 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air and a red 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, all convertibles.

"All cars were black or dark blue or dark green until the mid-1950s when the flowers came out again," he said of the bright, pastel colors.

As for world cars, a bright red 1969 Lamborghini Countach, for example, will be displayed against a contrasting green backdrop. Others include a blue 2016 Acura NSX, a black 1961 Mercedes SL, a drab olive 1985 British Army Land Rover Defender, a 1974 Jaguar E-Type and a mega-rare and mega-fast silver 1993 Jaguar XJ220.

"There's something here for everyone," said Lee.

Buerman pointed out an immaculate black 1957 DeSoto convertible and noted he had purchased such a car for $295 when he was 18 years old. "I worked on it a little and sold it to the foreman on the construction site where I worked," he said.

"I was a card-carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers," he said, noting he helped build power-line towers during the summers. "It paid a lot," he said of the job, adding he practically lived in the car, "driving, sleeping, going to the cinema."

Buerman was born in Mannheim, Germany, and came to upstate New York with his mother, American stepfather and two sisters when he was four. He earned a law degree from Syracuse University and is the retired chairman of New York law firm Harris Beach. He is also chairman of American Rock Salt Co., in Retsof, New York, and USWatercraft, a yacht builder in Warren.

Maggie Buerman is from Helsingborg, Sweden. They met in 1983 when both were racing in the J24 sailboat world championship in Maalmo, Sweden. He owns the Newport-based 12-meter yacht New Zealand, known by its sail number KZ-3, and the superfast 52-foot TP-52 racing yacht Hooligan. They live in Highland Beach, Florida, with a second home in Newport, and have three children and one grandchild.

— pelswort@providencejournal.com

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