September 16, 2022
21:30
From the Bugatti Type 37 A (1927) to the Lamborghini Miura (1967), Filip Baert’s family collection is full of marvels. Her favourite? The Ferrari F40 (1992).
Two years ago, Filip Baert (46) was close to death when his Porsche 911 GT3 Touring spun at 120 kilometers per hour. “The highway was flooded and I was driving on semi-slicks, the sportiest tires on the market. ‘Let me live!’ I cried. I found myself in the stream. The next day, I was in the office at 7 a.m. – at the time I was a part-time consultant for our family business.”
“In the afternoon, a crushing blow: I no longer wanted this job and, as strange as it may seem after such an accident, I wanted to take my love of cars into high gear. Today, I I live for cars. I don’t spend an hour without thinking about it. Since last year, I have been representing the German company Axel Schuette Fine Cars in the Benelux, a large classic car dealership. For me, it is in the top 10 in the world .”
“The Ferrari F40 is my favourite. When you accelerate, it’s an incredibly explosive and cunning beast.”
Filip Baert and cars
Filip Baert is ex-managing director of Wattex and representative of Axel Schuette Fine Cars.
The first one | Austin-Healey 100/4 (1954)
The everyday car | BMW Alpina B5 (2021)
The best | Porsche 2.7 RS (1973)
The worst | Jeep Cherokee 2.5D
The favorite | Ferrari F40 (1992)
The dream | Porsche 904 RS. “It’s good to still have dreams.”
“Here is the family collection,” he explains. Baert takes us on a tour of the converted old stables of his square farm. Behind a window sit a dozen exceptional cars. “I never say these are my cars: it was my father who started this collection. Almost 15 years ago, I persuaded him to buy the Lamborghini Miura (1967). Via the Lamborghini Classic Club Germany , I got the contact details of a bachelor who lived in a dilapidated house, with an old Citroën parked in front of the door. When he opened his shed, I almost fell over: there were at least twenty Lamborghini! He had never driven the Miura, because he had a back problem. For my 40th birthday, I did the Miura Tour, in Andalusia, in this car.”
©Jeroen Hanselaer
Baert says he attaches more importance to the quality than to the size of the collection. “After the sale of the family business in 2017, my passion multiplied. We then moved on to ‘blue chip’ investments, very valuable models.” He shows me a Ferrari F40 (1992) and a Ferrari F50 (1996). “With the first, I will soon be going to Switzerland with a friend. The car will thus pass the 40,000 kilometer mark. It is my favorite, my ‘childhood poster car’. And it is also the last Ferrari built under Enzo Ferrari. When you accelerate, it’s an incredibly explosive and cunning beast. It whistles into your ears like a rocket. Before buying it, I’ve seen at least ten of them, in Belgium and abroad: c is a treasure hunt.”
His most valuable car is missing from the garage. “The Ferrari 288 GTO (1984) is being restored, because I want to participate in elegance competitions.” The Jaguar XK 140 Roadster (1957), the Jaguar XK 150 DHC (1959) and the Jaguar E-Type (1968) are not there either, as is the Porsche 911 2.7 RS Lightweight (1973). We see the Bugatti EB110 GT (1995). “It belongs to my sister. With its four turbos, its 4×4 transmission and its 60-valve twelve-cylinder engine, it was a revolutionary hypercar.”
©Jeroen Hanselaer
Baert is always looking for the detail that hides behind his classic cars, the history, a particular color palette. “Sometimes I buy them on a whim and, if the excitement dies down, I resell them, like the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing (1955).” The Porsche 993 GT (1996) and the Carrera GT (2006) also left: “I don’t feel like paying a fortune to the state to do 500 kilometers a year. No, I never have regrets; I always look to the future.”
His Invicta S Low Chassis (1931) is one of the most sought after pre-war cars. “Here is the 1930s Maybach, which set speed records and won the Monte Carlo rally. I just bought it from a German dealer and I am in the process of discovering it. A dream drive! Its 4 engine .4 liters of 200 hp is a work of art. This car really has a soul.”
©Jeroen Hanselaer
The Bugatti Type 37 A (1927) with compressor was built in 76 examples, of which about half have a racing past. This one is not blue, as usual, but white, the German national livery. In 1928 and 1929, it raced on the Nürbürgring, Germany’s most iconic circuit. “Driving at 100 km/h with it is like driving at 230 km/h with the Ferrari F40. I have already driven it as far as Antwerp. 120 km/h, both hands firmly on the steering wheel at left: it’s wonderful. I found it at a collector’s, through a broker. Invictas and Bugattis are rarely found on the market, but they are fiercely traded.”
“For our investment portfolio, I have agreed with my wife on a distribution key between shares, real estate and cars. But I have room!” exclaims Baert, laughing.