collections
Instead,the ‘63turnedouttobeagatewaycar,launchinga
collectionthathasspannednearly30yearsandnowincludes
14 cars (plus threenon-Corvettes), whichhekeeps in two
garages andonenearby storage facility. “Inever set out to
haveacollection,”hesays.
Forawhile,hedidn’t.For13yearshewashappyenough
withhis 1963StingRay, but thenhebecame smittenwith
anothermodel, the ‘62. It had a rounded rear. “I thought,
‘Whynot?’ andsoIdid.”
After that, he startedbuyinghimself anotherCorvette
every threeyears—again,not somethingheplanned todo;
it just turnedout thatway.
AlthoughBrown’s carshave turnedout tobeagood in-
vestment—his 1963,whichhepaid$16,500 for in 1985, is
nowworth at least five times that amount—hehasnever
soldany.“There’sjustsomethingaboutthem,”hesays.“You
either likeCorvettesoryoudon’t, and ifyoudo,you tend to
be fanaticalabout them.”
TherearesomanyCorvetteclubs in theUnitedStates—
morethan270atcurrentcount—thatthere’saNationalCouncil
ofCorvetteClubstoorganizethemall,withbylaws,conventions,
scholarshipsandgrants,andapublic-relationsdepartment.
WhichisgoodnewsforBrown.Threeyearsago,hemade
a feature-lengthdocumentaryaboutthehistoricCorvette
that raced inLeMans in 1960called
TheQuest
, andmost
recently, hewas co-host, producer andwriter of the tele-
visionshow
CorvetteNation
for twoseasonsonDiscovery
Communications’Velocitychannel.Nowhe’s launchinga
showof his own, one that covers differentCorvette cen-
tric topics, from collectors around theU.S. — there are
an estimated22,000members of theNational Corvette
Restorers’Societyalone.“There’samultitudeofaspectsto
theCorvetteworld,andwehopetotouchonthemall.It’sa
nichemarket,but it’sabignichemarket.”
Afewweeksago,Brownandhiswifegot intohisnewest
car,firedupthe650-horsepowerengine,turnedthedialto
“Touring”modeandcruiseddown I-30 for the 17-minute
drive toFortWorth for dinner.Hepulledup to the valet
at theCapitalGrille, a restaurant known for itsdry-aged
steaks, andhanded over the keys. “I said, ‘Did you ever
see
FerrisBueller’sDayOff
?’ That always gets a laugh.”
HOOKEDONVETTES.COM
“
INEVER
SETOUT
TOHAVEA
COLLECTION
”
Clockwise fromabove
left: 1957Corvette,
generationC-1; the interior
of the 1957Vette; a few
of Brown’sbeautiful cars at
hishome; 1967Corvette,
generationC-2; Brown’s
latest ride: 2015Z06.
CELEBRATED LIVING • SPRING 2015
40
