Hot wheels: art dealer Kenny Schachter pops the bonnet on his car collection

Leon Chew - Photography
Kenny Schachter is a different kind of car collector. The art dealer has bought and sold around a hundred cars over the years, all meticulously catalogued on his website. This year he’s combining his passions with a special show of 13 cars at Design Miami/ Basel, presented alongside a catalogue with photography by Leon Chew and design by Mai Ikuzawa of Bow Wow International Ltd.
‘Coming from the suburbs in Long Island my family had zero connection to art, so I came to cars through industrial design. It attracted me before I even knew what art was,’ Schachter explains. ‘It’s a lifelong passion based on aesthetics.’ Schachter commissioned architect Ab Rogers to design his house and office, placing a glass partition between the garage and work space so his daily drive was there to admire when not in use.
As a result, these are vehicles to be savoured even when they’re standing still. Schachter favours the perverse and the off-kilter, rather than the headliner collector pieces and believes that the heyday of unique design is on the wane. ‘Kids don’t react to cars the way they used to. Now it’s just Uber,’ he says. ’The title, "Manual", refers to a car you have to drive yourself, not just the transmission. Perhaps one day you’ll need to go to a theme park to drive. But these are handmade objects that existed before regulations homogenised the industry. They’re relics.’
124 Abarth Spider, 1972.
They’re also steeped in rich colour, including hues from the era before taste ossified into dull black, white and silver correctness. One of Schachter’s favourites is the Renault RS Turbo, its rear seats stripped out and replaced by a racing engine. ‘[Giorgetto] Giugiaro did the back half and it’s one of the most outlandish automotive behinds I’ve ever seen.’ Even the acknowledged classic beauties – the Lancia Aurelia B20 GT, a clutch of Alfa Romeos – are still drawn from the left field, cars that often overlooked in favour of more conventional and popular choices. ‘It’s about the objects themselves, and not the brands,’ Schachter says, ‘for me a totally restored car is the worst. You want the smells and the patina.’
Most impressively, he collaborated with Zaha Hadid on two prototypes of the Z-Car, designed between 2005 and 2008 as an exploration of how asymmetry and new forms might work in a famously conservative industry. Chew’s photographs ably capture the sculptural beauty, formal oddity and sheer industrial exoticism embodied by these cars, the richness of their colour and the functional simplicity of their design. From the winged and fluted forms of the 1973 Porsche RSR, the potent, boxy fury of the little Renault 5, and the precise beauty of the Lancia Fulvia
As an American driving in London’s narrow streets, Schachter appreciates small-scale design – a classic original Mini is among the exhibits – and his collaboration with Hadid was intended as a move away from supersized machines. ‘I’ve never been attracted to flashy cars,’ he says, ‘I maybe lost money on 97 per cent of the cars I’ve owned. I’m very good friends with my mechanic.’ Leftfield car culture has never looked so good.
Left, Lancia Fulvia Fanalone HF 1.6 Lusso, 1970. Right, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider by Pininfarina, 1961
Left, Zaha Hadid Z-Car, 2007. Right, Renault Series 1 R5 Turbo, 1980
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA, 1965
Lancia Auriela B20 GT, 1952
Lancia Auriela B20 GT, 1952
Zaha Hadid Z-Car, 2007
Lancia Delta Integrale HF EVO I, 1991
Land Rover Defender TD5 90, 2006
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA, 1965
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA, 1965
Renault Series 1 R5 Turbo, 1980
Left, Austin Mini Cooper S, 1966. Right, Mercedes-Benz 300TD Touring, 1982
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
‘#Manual’ is on view until 18 June at Design Miami/ Basel. For more information, visit the Rove Cars website and the Design Miami website
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
The bespoke Jaguar E-Type GTO melds elements from every era of the classic sports car
ECD Automotive Design’s one-off commission caters to a client who wanted to combine the greatest hits of Jaguar’s E-Type along with modern conveniences and more power
-
Casa Sanlorenzo debuts in Venice as a new hub for contemporary art
The luxury yachting leader unveils a stunning new space in a palazzo restored by Piero Lissoni – where art, innovation, and sustainability come together
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on life
Thanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being rebonr as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
For the Miami Grand Prix, Lego built ten fully drivable F1 cars
Four million bricks and 22,000 hours of work: here’s how Lego created functional cars for the Formula 1 drivers’ parade
-
Formula 1 in photos: 100 memorable moments
A new book, ‘Formula 1: The Impossible Collection’, marks 75 years of the motor-racing championship – a history full of tenacity, triumph and tragedy
-
Our pick of the reveals at the 2025 New York Auto Show, from concept SUVs to new EVs
Interest in overseas brands remained strong at this year’s NY Auto Show despite the threat of tariffs designed to boost American-owned brands
-
A new show in Saint Louis promises a rare combination of art, cars and elegant fashion
‘Roaring: Art, Fashion, and the Automobile in France, 1918-1939’ celebrates a golden age of creativity, showcasing ten unique cars alongside the cream of the era’s style
-
Meet the final drivable prototype of the Telo MT1 pickup truck, shaped by Fuseproject
The Telo MT1 is a modestly scaled EV that turns the traditional all-American approach to pick-up truck design on its head
-
Airstream goes all-electric with a travel trailer designed for zero-emission off-grid exploration
The new Airstream Basecamp 20Xe travel trailer offers spacious accommodation and a full suite of facilities, wherever you decide to set up camp
-
New Polydrops P21 is a travel trailer with an architectural backstory
Streamlined and ultra-compact, the Polydrops P21 is a self-contained RV aimed at remote workers and energy-efficient adventurers
-
Yves Béhar gives striking shape and form to this new hybrid-electric catamaran concept
Solsea is a concept catamaran from Italian shipyard Rossinavi, blending zero emission cruising with design by Yves Béhar