We were fortunate to have car enthusiasts in our family, relatives born and somehow bred loving cars, no matter their age or color.  There was a passion about all names and makes and how fast they could go: : Daimler, Lagonda, Mercedes, Packard, Hudson.  The gentlemen (and ladies) who shared that passion became immediate friends forever. We saw that in our family.  Their camaraderie created from auto passion seemed never-ending, no matter who they married, divorced or married again. The loves of their lives were still automobiles, the shiny exterior and, in looking under the hood, become bedazzled at the manifest twisted glories of the engines. We came to understand that family passion, and realized how important it was to their lives and personalities.

And, it was also this camaraderie, this shared passion for the machine, that brought the car club concept popularity to the fore — and many, many years ago also. One would think these clubs were of recent nascence, but no.

The first car clubs emerged in the late 19th century, with the Automobile Club de France founded in 1895. The Automobile Club of America (1899) was born soon thereafter.

As more brands entered the automobile market from makers like Ford to luxury brands – Packard and Pierce-Arrow, owners were soon bonding over their shared passion for their cars.

One of the newest and certainly most visionary is Finish Line Auto Club, a set of unique car clubs in various places throughout the United States.. Founded by two gentlemen, a father and a son, the Principes have combined their professional Commercial Real Estate experience with their deep passion for the automobile and motorcycle, to create this luxurious, one-of-a-kind endeavor, with the garage customization starting at $1.3 million. 

JustLuxe was grateful to the Principes for the opportunity to learn more about Finish Line Auto Club, as we interviewed them both recently.

JustLuxe: What is the vision behind the Finish Line Auto Club? 

Tony Principe: 

The vision behind Finish Line Auto Club is to create world-class facilities around the country that allow individual collectors the ability to own and customize their individual spaces exactly to their personal tastes. Our goal is for our members to be part of a  community of like-minded collectors,  regularly brought together through enjoyable  curated events and experiences, all the while having staff and services that meet their needs inside a facility with ultimate security.

Rick Principe:

The vision from the beginning for Finish Line Auto Club was to create a secure, controlled development where car collectors could exclusively associate with other car collectors who shared their same interests and passions

Our vision has always been this:  a country club for car collectors. We always wanted to offer more than what an elite level collector would expect. 

Our members range from the beginning to the seasoned collector,  whose collections are already recognized as some of the finest in the world. At Finish Line Auto Club, we also deliver security and needful amenities that have already exceeded expectations.. Our members include some of the world’s most successful people, including celebrities, executives, and entrepreneurs.Also, a network of Finish Line Auto Club locations are being developed in the recognized key car culture areas throughout the world. Each owner will enjoy reciprocal use of our other facilities regardless of where they are located.

JustLuxe: As a father and son team, what are some of the advantages of working so closely together on Finish Line Auto Club? 

Tony Principe: 

We are both  blessed to be able to work together as a father and son team and build such a unique and meaningful business together. We were able to take our individual talents, knowledge and experiences in the real estate and car culture categories and blend them to build a one of a kind business in Finish Line Auto Club.

Rick Principe:

Since my son, Tony, was walking, we shared an interest in automobiles. When he was 7 years old,  we both raced go-carts and participated in car events. Working together every day as a father and son team has allowed us to share our passion and to build on it. We have worked together every day for so many years. Because of our common interest, we have participated in many car rallies, collecting, racing, cars and coffee events, and so many other car activities. Each of us has strong relationships with car dealerships, car collectors, and car museums throughout the United States. We both are collectors and have been for several years.

JustLuxe: How important/useful was your professional experience in commercial real estate in developing Finish Line Auto Club?

Tony Principe:

My father and I have a combined experience of close to 100 years in the commercial real estate industry, in almost every facet of the business. This depth of experience has allowed us to source, entitle, finance, develop and manage the Finish Line Auto Club facilities, whilst  simultaneously integrating and handling the specialized needs that are both unique yet  specific to car collectors. This has given us a tremendous foundation for members to enjoy through helping us provide a memorable, unique experience for them.

Rick Principe:

Our first commercial development was in 1971. Since that time, we have built and developed over 80 commercial developments. Our construction and development of so many interesting commercial projects has provided us with extensive experience in entitlements, construction, design, financing, and management. Finish Line Auto Club is just an extension of our professional experiences, but also adding the element of creating a club type atmosphere. 

JustLuxe: Tell us about your shared passion for cars. Do you like similar cars or are your tastes different?

Tony Principe:

We have both been avid enthusiasts for a very long time and we do share similar interest in automobiles and collecting. Our real interest has been more focused towards the driving events, track days, rallies, and the events centered around the automotive community. We spend more time driving and less time going to car shows..

We just hosted the largest gathering of vintage Mercedes 300SL Gullwing in the country last weekend. We had more than 75 classic Mercedes 300SL there, all beautiful, then we went out on a drive. It was both exceptional, and memorable.

Rick Principe:

Although I have always had cool cars from high school on, my first collector car was a 1969 Jaguar E-Type Roadster. The E-Type was followed by a new Ferrari 308 Quatrovalve in 1983. The Ferrari led to starting to collect Ferrari and eventually becoming president of the Ferrari Owners Club. 

From that day forward, I started to purchase additional collector cars as space would permit. My personal collection is primarily European sports cars such as Ferrari, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz. Prior to developing Finish Line, I was forced to convert my tennis court into my collector car garage. 

Now, I have the ability to store my cars safely at the Finish Line Auto Club locations. Tony and I share a passion for many of the same cars and each of our collections have some similarities. 

JustLuxe: The idea of Finish Line Auto Club is such a unique, yet relatable concept for car collectors. How did the idea come about and what was the first step in making Finish Line Auto Club a reality? 

Tony Principe:

The concept for Finish Line Auto Club happened organically back in 2006. We both had our own needs to store vehicles and happened to purchase a multi-tenant industrial park for that purpose. The park quickly sold out  to car collectors we knew  had similar needs.  That conceptualized  the idea that we should develop a purpose-built facility, dedicated exclusively to car collectors that put a priority on security, events and a place for the collectors to spend quality time together.

Rick Principe:

Since we were both collecting cars and participating in so many car events, we started to have our own needs and requirements that we wanted fulfilled. In addition, many of our friends and clients had the same desire. The problem with the marketplace was that small commercial buildings were not available. Also, most of our friends and clients wanted to own, not rent. Our first Finish Line Auto Club concept was in a small industrial building in Thousand Oaks, California. We divided the building into 40 small 800 to 1000 sq. ft. spaces, then filed and obtained a condominium plan. This allowed us to sell small buildings to car collectors. The project was an instant success and the start of the Finish Line Auto Club.

JustLuxe: How important is the concept of community to the success of Finish Line Auto Club?  Tell us about a memorable member event.

Tony Principe:

The idea of community is the heart of Finish Line Auto Club. What initially started as a solution for collector storage needs quickly evolved into an exclusive country club for car collectors. We are fortunate that we recognized that early and designed the facilities to put a great deal of focus and energy into making the facility a place for members to enjoy. This required us to pivot our focus developing Finish Line Auto Club from strictly a real estate function to a hospitality business that marries the two together.

Finish Line Auto Club hosts so many different types of social and car events, It’s hard to pick one event in particular. We do everything from speaker series events featuring professional drivers and auto industry icons, to cars and coffee events that are themed to a  type of car, to large-scale concours quality car shows, charity events, owner drives, and planned track days off site. 

One of the things that really stands out to me with all these events is when members or guests come up and thanks us for creating such an amazing car community. That makes it all worth it. 

JustLuxe: Together, you have opened several Finish Line Auto Club locations in 2024-2025.  What new upcoming locations will be opened next and where? 

Tony Principe:

We are now expanding and building our pipeline of new Finish Line Auto Club facilities in California and Arizona, and have our sights set on numerous locations around the country.

We are very excited about our newest project at Scottsdale AZ which will substantially expand on the social aspect of the business. The new facility will be located next to the Scottsdale airport and will be situated on 10 1/2 acres and over 200,000 ft.². This project will include close to 70 car condos, a 16,000 square-foot multi-story clubhouse with full-time food and beverage services and highly curated events, and a separate car storage building for individual vehicles.

Finish Line Auto Club Scottsdale will integrate numerous amenities and services for everyone from enthusiasts with one car to large collections. This new project will be our new platform and model that we intend to roll out around the country.

 

JustLuxe: What special amenities can Finish Line Auto Club members enjoy?

Tony Principe:

There are a whole host of different amenities that our members can enjoy that include very highly appointed and furnished clubhouses with bars, wine cellar, and game tables, to meeting rooms and event spaces. The clubhouses and open-air patios are to be used for private member parties and Finish Line hosted events, with our dedicated staff that are there to support the members anytime meeting their specific needs.

The new Scottsdale facility will include a coffee shop, multiple full services conference rooms, a private club with bar, lounge, wine cellar and outdoor rooftop patio. There will also be a separate speakeasy with a game room. The members will be offered full concierge services for their collection management and more.

Rick Principe:

Our amenities at Finish Line Auto Club include 24/7 security with cameras around each location, gated entries, security monitoring, a full-time general manager on site, full-time maintenance personnel, private clubhouse, a full calendar of scheduled events, freedom for the member to improve his own space, units that offer high resell values, 24-hour access to the location anytime, gate card entrance, and reciprocal privileges at all other Finish Line Auto Club locations.

JustLuxe: Tell us about the spaces. What have members created on site at Finish Line Auto Club? 

Tony Principe:

The garage spaces at Finish Line Auto Club are incredible. We deliver highly finished shell spaces to each buyer that are ready to move into, but the collectors use their creativity and resources to customize them to complement their lifestyle and collections. Garages include full kitchens, bars, showers, golf and race simulators and home theater systems that are next level. I am always amazed with what our collectors wished for and what we created at the Finish Line facilities.

Rick Principe:

The spaces are unbelievable. With the owners, it isn’t about the cars, it is about the garages. Most owners hire professional designers and create truly one-of-a-kind garages. Finish Line members are free to create a garage to match their personality. Because personalities are different, so are the garages. Most garages have wet bars, televisions, and entertainment areas, bathrooms and showers.

JustLuxe: Can you discuss some of the unexpected feedback you have heard from Finish Line Auto Club members. What do they enjoy most? 

Tony Principe:

Now that we have three Finish Line Auto Club facilities up and running, we have a lot of engagement with our owners and guests at small and large events. In addition to the owners, we have well known car designers, motorsport champions, leaders in the automotive industry, and avid enthusiasts regularly in attendance. Many of them comment  that they have never experienced a facility and community like Finish Line Auto Club and hope they are invited back.

We also hear that many of our owners have forged strong friendships and business partnerships with other Finish Line owners.

Each owner/member and guest is important,  and we put a tremendous amount of effort and energy into creating the most positive and elevated experience for everyone at our locations from the moment they step foot on property.

Rick Principe:

The most common feedback has been hearing how much everyone loves the idea. That the ability to custom design the garage inside a community is unique.. Most say our events are great also. We hear nothing but good things and are proud to host collectors from all over the world, from places like Europe, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, as well as other countries. They learn as do we. It is a win-win for all.