Huge Auto Museum Is Shutting Down and Selling Off 295 Pristine Collector Cars

Date August 6, 2025
Category
News
Huge Auto Museum Is Shutting Down and Selling Off 295 Pristine Collector Cars

If you’re a Midwesterner and a fan of classic cars, the name Larry Klairmont might ring a bell. However, you may not be aware that he passed in 2021, leaving his namesake auto museum in Chicago in the hands of his partner. This fall, it’s closing for good, and the hundreds of remaining cars, scooters, motorcycles, and other automotive oddities are all headed to auction in September.

Klairmont had an eye for the unique and collectible, and as is the case with many museums, this one began as overflow storage for the car-buying habits of its “curator.” He turned a successful cleaning business into a small real estate empire, putting him in a position to acquire the space he needed to store his four-wheeled curiosities. Eventually, the collection grew to more than 300 cars. As of 2017, Larry and his wife (who managed it) said it was the largest collection on display anywhere in the Midwest.

The sale listing caught our attention after Mercedes Streeter posted about it on the Autopian. Having visited the museum herself, she had some great photos from the msueum floor, too.

While the majority of the collection consists of what I would consider established vintage staples (plenty of vintage muscle and the like), there are a few noteworthy exceptions.

Klairmont Kollections Automotive Museum
Mecum

Maybe he liked superhero cars, or maybe he just knew they’d generate buzz with potential visitors, but either way, Klairmont managed to stash away a few iconic TV and movie replicas, including both Keaton- and West-era Batmobiles, a “Black Beauty” Imperial, and a Mystery Machine.

But if you ask me, the crown jewel in this collection is much newer than any of those. Klairmont somehow got his hands on Lincoln’s wild, Aston-Martin-powered Continental Concept Sedan from 2002—the year I graduated from high school. Here it sits, hiding an Aston V12 under the hood and displaying its full set of custom luggage for all to see.

This thing is just insanely cool, and I’m not the only one on staff who thinks so:

You can browse all the “Larry’s Legacy” lots at Mecum; the auction itself takes place September 19-21, just a week after the museum closes its doors for good.

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