There is no experience quite like going for a relaxing drive in a vintage Bentley or gripping the steering wheel of a high-powered Lamborghini while on a coastal road.
Yet doing so just doesn't feel the same if no one else is there to share the experience.
This is something that Luxury Rally Club, an exclusive experiential company, has sought to address since 2018. This company wants to deliver for car collectors as well as their loved ones.
"What I really wanted to do was just curate that whole experience for the whole family," Trevor Johnson, founder and director of Luxury Rally Club, told AltDriver. "I think that's where we tie in a lot of amazing experiences that are for the whole family."
A former professional hockey player, Johnson did not come from the automotive world. Where he grew up in Canada, the "cool" people were those who had a nice Ford F-150. The weather did not suit high-end luxury vehicles.
Still, Johnson had ties to the finer things in life. When he retired in 2017, he was a brand ambassador for a luxury travel company. He had considerable knowledge of five-star hotels, private jets, yachts, and the people who frequented them.
Johnson entered the automotive world after meeting Craig Ekberg, a businessman with an impressive collection of vehicles. Ekberg and two of his friends wanted to organize a rally for vintage Bentley owners, so they asked Johnson for help setting up the hotels.
Johnson's involvement in the Bentley celebration became so much more as he focused on bringing sponsors and gifts for the partners and spouses who came along for the ride. He wanted this to be a memorable event for everyone involved, not just those who drove the vintage cars.
Bentley also chose to get involved in this rally. The automaker sent five brand-new "comfort cars" with modern amenities, as well as specialists who cleaned them every night.
If participants or their partners needed to take a break from the vintage vehicles, they could use the comfort cars to go shopping or simply take some time to themselves.
It also didn't hurt that the comfort cars driving alongside vintage Bentleys provided opportunities for unique photos.
"Keep in mind, these are just private guys that all got together," Johnson said about the rally. "It had nothing to do with Bentley, but Bentley knew they needed to be involved in this."
This first rally was more of a test run, but it was a success. It showed the benefits of bringing like-minded people together to share their love of cars and only made the experience more memorable in the process.
"So that's really when we were like, 'Okay, we need a bank account now and we need cooperation,'" Johnson said. "And that's when Luxury Rally Club was born."
Since this first rally, LRC has grown exponentially. Johnson and the LRC team have only continued to go bigger and bigger with events while bringing in some of the biggest partners. The list includes such examples as Playboy, duPont Registry, and Graham Rahal Performance.
The membership group and list of attendees over the years has featured millionaires and billionaires alike, all of whom have bonded over a common interest in unique cars.
"They keep coming back, just because we give an experience that no one else can get," Johnson said. "And they're really loyal to us, which is really great.
"And they've developed their close inner circle within LRC. They want to do stuff with us because they feel like they're family."
Luxury Rally Club and the attendees have explored Route 66 in pre-1980s cars. They celebrated the Lamborghini Countach while heading to Pebble Beach.
We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the #Countach, bringing together over 2 dozen Countach's from around the globe to rally down to #carweek. Luxury Rally Club creates experiences that last a lifetime! Give us a shout and let us rewrite your bucket list! pic.twitter.com/LoPKpASRRB
— Luxury Rally Club (@LuxuryRallyClub) August 22, 2021
They put the iconic Gullwing doors of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL on full display while exploring the Southwest. LRC partnered with luxury watch brand Richard Mille for five days of driving in Southern California.
Johnson and LRC even bought out the Michelin-rated restaurant, The French Laundry, for an exclusive, 40-person event. This "pinch me moment" cost well over $100,000, but it was worth it for LRC.
"That's a little pretentious, but that was kind of crazy," Johnson said. "I mean, you're sitting there, and it's one of the most famous restaurants in the whole world, and you're just chatting with the chef.
Last year, LRC held a different type of Rally. Instead of bringing iconic cars together for a special week of driving, the group went to Las Vegas. They took in the inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix and all of the festivities of the race weekend.
This luxurious setup, created in partnership with Innovative Dining Group, included an off-the-grid suite with the Las Vegas Grand Prix playing on a massive screen. Attendees also had seats that put them right next to the action on the track.
"It's cool because there is this spot where you can literally overlook the whole straight stretch. Yeah, it's amazing. It's a beautiful view of the track."
This Las Vegas Rally, which LRC views as a success, will return this season as F1 competes once again on the streets of Las Vegas.
The attendees and members will be together for two nights. The first will be more for networking as LRC continues to build its community. Some celebrities will spend time with the group, as will Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson.
Lucid is one of the sponsors for the event.
The second night of the Las Vegas Rally will focus on the weekend's main event. The attendees will watch as the biggest names in F1 compete under the lights of Las Vegas, and they will do so in an exclusive environment built specifically for them.
They will enjoy VIP treatment, which includes food from Boa Steakhouse and Sushi Roka. They will sample caviar and Louis XIII, the "king of cognacs."
"Our event for Vegas is very networking based and fun and very light," Johnson said. "It's not sales-y or serious. That's not what people want, right?
"They just want to go and have a good time, be a part of the race, but not have to be sitting in a grandstand and totally be stuck in one spot for the whole time. And I think that's why people really like it because there's so much to do in Vegas."
Once the checkered flag flies, the F1 teams will head to Qatar to continue the season. Johnson and LRC, however, will look forward to a busy 2025 schedule featuring numerous exclusive experiences.
The work never ends as they continue to take over the experiential world.