В Арваде открылся музей-памятник жизни писателя Клайва Касслера с коллекцией из 65 классических автомобилей

Denver-area auto museum stands as a shrine on wheels ARVADA — Novelist Clive Cussler’s fictional character Dirk Pitt was a swashbuckling, car-loving, shipwreck-seeking sort of hero. Pretty much like the man who created him. Cussler, the New York Times best-selling author who died in 2020 at 88, left behind an impressive legacy. Not only did he write around 80 thrillers by the time of his death and leave several series that co-authors, including his son, are still producing, but he also acquired dozens of classic cars and uncovered more than 60 shipwreck sites with his National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA). His most famous find was the H.L. Hunley, a Confederate vessel that was the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in combat. “He was a fun, adventurous man,” says his daughter, Teri Toft. “He had a lot of great stories. He was a real character with a good sense of humor. Intelligent. Very kind man.” Toft is the director of Cussler Museum, which opened in 2005 in Arvada. The nondescript building stands hidden off one of the main roads through town. Inside the front doors is a sight that stokes awe in even non-car enthusiasts, as 65 of Cussler’s 95-car collection are on display, shimmering with lustrous chrome and metal. Some are repainted in colors that look like Skittles; others are as shiny as the back of a black widow. Duesenberg, Bugatti, Bentley, Minerva, Cadillac, Studebaker, Packard, Rolls-Royce, Mercury. All the big names are here, and in immaculate condition. The museum is only open May through September. In the offseason, these vehicles get tune-ups from in-house mechanics and are taken out for short trips on the road. Cars from the 1950s and 1960s fill the first room; classics from the 1920s and 1930s inhabit the second. “There’s a lot of stuff here you won’t see anywhere else,” assistant curator Henry Jackson says, motioning to various vehicles around the room. “That purple car there — a 1925 Isotta Fraschini, a high-end Italian car — they only made two of those in that body style. We hear the other one does exist; it’s in Connecticut. When it was new, it cost $28,000 in 1928. A brand-new Ford was $450 (then).” Throughout the museum, visitors see glimpses of the author himself, smiling in photos as he poses with different cars on the back covers of his novels. He liked to include his cars in his books, such as his cranberry-colored 1936 Avions Voisin that was featured in the 1992 novel “Sahara.” The book inspired the 2005 film of the same name starring Matthew McConaughey. “Fans have read his books for years,” Toft says, “so when they come here, they’re so excited to see the actual car that was in that book.” Cussler’s love of cars began in the 1930s, as he grew up in Los Angeles and watched celebrities drive around in their big, fancy town cars, Toft says. He always wanted to own one. In the 1970s, Cussler moved his family out of the “rat race of California,” his daughter says, and to Estes Park, where they lived a couple of years before moving to Arvada. The patriarch was working at a Denver ad agency in 1973 when he published his first book, “The Mediterranean Caper,” and introduced the world to beloved character Dirk Pitt. “After the Dirk Pitt books became bestsellers, I could afford to buy the more exotic examples of classic autos,” a Cussler quote reads on the museum’s website. “I purchased a 1955 Rolls-Royce that my wife liked because it was new the year we were married. Then came a 1926 Hispano Suiza cabriolet that I bought at my first classic car auction after I had three martinis.” Over time, Cussler became friends with a man who had a restoration shop in the building that now houses the museum. Cussler would store his cars there while his friend worked on them. After the author and his wife left town, splitting their time between Telluride and Arizona, it made sense to keep the car collection in Arvada, and it was eventually turned into the museum. “A lot of these are in their original condition,” Toft says. “This isn’t your typical car collection. These cars are all unique in one way or another.” As is the real-life ship in the middle of the museum. After creating the fictional NUMA in his books, Cussler founded the actual nonprofit NUMA and authored nonfiction books about his seafaring adventures. This is the vessel he and his team used to search for shipwrecks. IMPRESSIVE INVENTORY Here are some of the car stars at Cussler Museum in Arvada: — 1948 Talbot-Lago Grand Sport: After buying the Arctic blue car in 1978 and featuring it in his 1984 novel “Deep Six,” Clive Cussler took it to Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, a famous automotive event, where it won second in its class. In 2022, the family took it back to Pebble Beach, where it won another award. — 1918 Cadillac V-8 Sport Phaeton: The Kelly green Cadillac, with coachwork by touted General Motors designer Harley Earl, was once owned by Broadway producer Florence Ziegfeld, who gifted it to his wife, Billie Burke, the actress who played Glinda the Good Witch in “The Wizard of Oz.” — 1936 Pierce-Arrow V-12 Berliner with 1937 Pierce-Arrow Travelodge Trailer: Featured in Cussler’s 1994 “Inca Gold,” the navy blue trailer boasts many of the same modern conveniences of today, including a toilet and gas stove. — 1906 Stanley Steamer Touring: In 1899, the Stanley twins (one of whom would later build The Stanley in Estes Park) debuted their open-air vehicle with its small boiler and engine geared directly to the wheels. Steamers went from 0 to 60 mph in 11 seconds. Cussler had this one repainted a grape color.