In my time as a classic car owner - in addition to my 1998 Citroën Xantia Activa V6, I also own a 1974 Citroën DS 23, which is back home - I have learnt that other classic or exotic car owners are more than willing to showcase their own cars. And some of these people have quite the exotic collections.

Following this Citroën CX Prestige to a car collection.

I had the fortune of seeing one such collection near Sarasota in Florida. Again, I had gotten in touch with the guy who was the main mechanic on the collection through our shared interest in Citroëns. Trust me, if you are a true car aficionado, Citroëns will be part of that interest.

A Ferrari Testarossa. Famous for its hard steering and not being a Citroën.

This collection, however, was not of Citroëns. But rather of another range of exotic cars, such as a Ferrari Testarossa, with other Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, several classic American cars [1] among others.

A Ferrari 365 GTC/4, not to be confused with the 365 GTC.

This experience is a lot of fun, to get to experience these vehicles up close, in a more authentic way than seeing them at a museum. You also get a nice personalised tour as its maintainer walks around showing you the cars, as well as some secrets about them up close.

The Ferrari 365 GTC/4's V12, with six separate carburettors.

This is a common advantage to being part of this culture. I feel like there is so much I do not know about cars when talking with these people, that I both get scared yet also excited. To know that there is still so much still to learn.

A Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit. There was also Bentley Mulsanne, which is basically the same car. Why these cars interest me is because they both have Citroën brakes and its self-levelling suspension. I saw its spheres!

And it is always fun to see other makes than the ones I usually engage with, which is pretty much limited to Citroën. But I really do know a lot about Citroëns. And yes, I learnt a lot more about Citroëns while travelling around North America. Ironically enough.

The Testarossa with its lights on. No engine start required.

And I also get to learn something about cars that are not Citroëns. Like, did you know that there are cars that are not Citroëns? What a strange world we live in.

Footnotes