Most automotive enthusiasts grew up playing with their favorite miniature die-cast toy replicas of the era’s unaffordable exotic supercars. The actual vehicles envelop the cutting-edge technology of their timeline of production, with body designs that bulge at the seams and push the limits of conventional thinking. Not only do they create a lust for finer things within the youngster’s mind, they also provide motivation to earn the wealth required to own such stunning examples of automotive art later in life. But where do these vehicles go when they need new ownership and are viewed as outdated instead of revolutionary? Enter Interstate Motorsport, a pre-owned exotic car dealer located in Pennington, New Jersey.
The unassuming exterior of the building hardly hints at what lies behind the glass entrance doors. Once you navigate the stairs, the exit unloads into the lounge and office area, which is reserved for finalizing the high-dollar deals. Additionally, this room directs guests to the second-level viewpoint of what a typical normal car dealership would call the main lot.
The hardwood floors are a product of the building’s previous life as a racquetball and fitness center. The owner of Interstate Motorsport, Steven Waldie, saw the opportunity to restore the location to its current condition and fill it with exotic automobiles. If it were a toy store, it would witness countless hysterical children, pleading to take home their favorite one. Even as an adult, it evokes the same emotion.
Lengthy Lamborghini automobiles populate every row of the room. Interstate even houses two examples of the exotic manufacturer’s limited production SUV from late in the 80s decade. A clear bias towards the Lamborghini make is evident throughout the vehicle’s overwhelming presence in the building. This affection was brought about when the owner was a child staring at the posters on his bedroom wall. “The Countach picture started it all for me – that was my era”, says Waldie.
When photographed, the organized grid of unblemished automotive grandeur creates the image of novelty items rather than standard vehicles.
A pair of identical hand-built Porsche 993 Turbo machines reside in the shadows underneath another row of cars. With an ever-rising price tag, as the last of the air-cooled 911 models, these 400 horsepower twin-turbocharged rockets are more of an investment than negotiable stock.
Between the boxed fenders, the light colored leather interior and the super-cool “flying mirrors”, the Ferrari Testarossa is an 80s styling icon. It encapsulates a time period when wild was the norm, and an undercover cop on television could cruise the city of Miami in a 12-cylinder Italian sports car.
Most notably used for carting around celebrities and foreign leaders, the Maybach 62 is not a driver’s car, but a car to be driven in. Opposite of normal road cars, the amenities of the Maybach are located in the rear, to give its chauffeur-transported passengers the ideal comfort. Oh, and if you’re a professional basketball player and your height is an issue, the 62 is over 20 feet long, so legroom isn’t a problem even for the Shaquille O’Neal’s of the world.
The Lamborghini Countach can be found in numerous colors on Interstate’s showroom floor. They are present with the option of American-market bumpers affixed to the ends, light and dark interiors, and with and without the factory-installed rear wing. This particular red ‘wing–delete’ model is very uncommon because of its black interior and lack of spoiler mounted to the decklid.
After seeing the destruction Jordan Belfort was capable of doing to a white Countach in The Wolf of Wall Street, it was even more significant to see how pristine this white Countach was, with all of its bumpers intact and unmolested.
Some new Lamborghini models even inhabit the floor, like this vibrant fluorescent green Aventador with black accents. The intense handcrafted lines of this innovative hypercar transfer into every aspect of the chassis including its futuristic headlamp, which incorporates sharp design elements that carve through the body of the car into the LED lighting fixture.
Elevated above the floor via its own lift, posed an automotive mixture of carbon fiber and red paint known as the Ferrari F40. With a curb weight around 3,000 pounds, Ferrari adopted a weight-saving strategy of spraying the paint very sparingly over the carbon fiber body to the point that it was possible to see the fiber’s weave protruding through its red coat. The vehicle’s lightened weight combined with a 470 horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 engine made the F40 the pinnacle of road car performance in its day; even today, the animalistic nature of the F40 is highly sought-after by enthusiasts looking to enter the arena of Ferrari ownership.
Even the F40 body panels can stand alone as art, demonstrated here with a wall display any automotive enthusiast could only dream of hanging.
“I just love cars. I have an Enzo seat in my office, SV seats, and a wing”, says Waldie. “People think it’s garbage, but I guess I love garbage.”
The showroom floor is not only reserved for European sports cars; it also gives shelter to a pair of 550 horsepower Ford GTs. One of the 343 production Heritage Edition GTs built awaits the sunlight of the outside world, parked closest to the bay doors. This limited edition Ford sports car wears the vintage blue/orange livery, which pays homage to the Le Mans-winning Ford GT40 of yesteryear.
In 1999, Audi overhauled the Lamborghini Diablo by improving the interior with a modern dashboard, then cleaning up the exterior by removing the dated flip-up headlights. This particular Roadster VT sports the improved aerodynamic look, which sets it apart from the rest of the older Diablo cars in the building.
Interstate houses two different examples of Lamborghini’s V12 SUV, the LM002. The outlandish all-terrain SUV is powered by the engine from a Lamborghini Diablo, yet there are four seats onboard to house passengers regardless of destination.
A small middle room of the facility contains even more rare vehicles, like this miniature red Countach made by Agostini Auto Junior. This is a functional hand-built replica of the famed Lamborghini sports car made into a 39cc go-kart for a much younger driver.
If exotic car owners don’t have space at their own residence, the facility’s massive 4-acre grounds are also used for vehicle storage. There is a grid of customer cars occupying their own room. These vehicles were not photographed for confidentiality reasons.
Positioned at the opposite end of the facility, the service area houses numerous cars. Similar to any other dealership, when these rare exotic beauties need any small or large repairs or maintenance performed, the owner is able to have the car serviced right here on the premises – some in the same building where they were purchased, simplifying the ownership experience.
Amongst the vehicles being serviced were a pair of red Ferrari classics. This completely spotless Ferrari 328 GTS has such aggressive styling, bearing some of the same trademark ductwork as the famed GTO.
This Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona lay gleaming in the middle of the service room. These cars were blessed with a 350 horsepower DOHC V12 engine, and received their nickname after Ferrari finished 1-2-3 in the 1967 24 hours of Daytona. This particular example had a plush period-correct beige leather interior that oozed class.
We’ll conclude our tour with a 390 horsepower, 4.9-liter F12 (flat 12-cylinder) engine out of a Ferrari Testarossa awaiting its transplant home, and a set of Lamborghini Diablo rear wheels with original Pirelli P-Zero tires. Interstate Motorsport offers purchasing and sales options for rare and exotic vehicles, a place to store customer cars, and service bays, cementing its status as an automotive enthusiast’s adult toy store.
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