New York Drivers: Manhattan Classic-Car Club gives members seat time in tons of hot hardware

As evidenced by the Chowderheads, not everyone living in New York City disdains the automobile. But you don’t really need to own one to have an opportunity to appreciate cars fully.

Classic Car Club Manhattan has more than 35 cars available to its 250 members, and it organizes track days and other events throughout the year.

The fleet includes a Ford GT, an Aston Martin DB9, a Bentley Continental GTC, a Parnelli Jones Mustang, and a Range Rover Sport, among others. Some members, such as jewelry designer Evan Yurman, bring their own rides to track days like a recent event at Lime Rock.

Phil Kavanagh, who originated the car-club concept in the United Kingdom and transplanted it to New York, has established three membership levels: $7,500, $11,250 and $22,875, plus a $1,500 initiation fee. The more you pay, the more premium seat time you get.

Club members are a diverse group. Melissa Hyland, 29, runs a custom invitation business and belongs with her husband, Tim, 32, an institutional asset manager. They are also Audi and Porsche Club members.

Yurman, steward of the men’s line of the David Yurman jewelry empire, seems like a down-to-earth car nut, in spite of his means. At 25, he lives in Manhattan and favors black T-shirts, jeans, $19.95 shoes and his six muscle cars, including a ’67 Firebird 400 and a ’69 Mustang with an 800-hp NASCAR Cup motor. He launched his line of men’s watches at a Classic Car Club Manhattan party, with his Porsche GTS at center stage wearing Yurman Racing graphics.

“We’re using the GTS as a symbol in ads and marketing,” said Yurman, who wants to compete with it. “My parents think I’m nuts—they have one car.”

autoweek.com