The King of Classics

Danville, California

— Don Williams does not have to work. He is 65, lives in the posh northern California enclave known as Blackhawk, and after a lifetime in the automotive business can afford to while away his days playing golf.

Fat chance. After all, Williams’ job is anything but work, as a visit to his office on a ridge high atop Blackhawk attests. Filling tens of thousands of square feet are some of most coveted classic cars on the planet, jaw-dropping stuff that would bring any four-wheel aficionado to their knees. Acting as a middle man crossed with a curator, Williams’ task is to use a global network of contacts and friendships developed over 50 years to move these mobile pieces of art from one well-appointed garage to the next. Williams has five human children; but he has thousands of glass-and-steel kids.

“This car here takes me back,” says Williams, pointing at an impossibly sleek 1952 Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale. “I sold it 25 years ago for the first time. It went to Switzerland, then to Sweden, to London, to Hong Kong, to New Jersey, and now back here. And after all that time, it only had about 150 miles added to the odometer.”