Dr. Roland Ugarte grew up in the days of some of the greatest racing movies of our time, like Le Mans starring Steve McQueen, and The Racing Scene with James Garner. “I was impressed with the art of the cars, the racing teams behind them and the celebrities that embodied the characters on screen,” he says, “I wanted that.”
The films are what made him fall in love with sports cars, especially Porsche, and everything related to the sport. As with most automotive enthusiasts, Dr. Ugarte imagined, and started planning how he could acquire the car of his dreams… a Porsche 914-6. It took a while, but when he started his urology practice in Minneapolis, it paved the way to that dream.
Now, Dr. Ugarte is not only the proud owner of a Porsche 914-6, but he has 10 other Porsches in a giant dream garage full of automobilia, which helps him remember all that brought him there. “I thought I couldn’t be happier experiencing the quality of the machines of the time… but it just kept getting better,” he said. “The 914-6, the 944 Turbo S, the 928 and, of course, the perennial 911 Turbo models were just the beginning.” He began collecting automobiles like art, and then discovered his love of automotive art as well, acquiring that which represented the brand he loved so much and the nostalgia from the era he so admired,
“It was always my dream to have a ten (plus) car garage, but our home only had four spots… and my wife and I had three children.” Impossible to “man cave” properly with bikes, toys, lawn equipment and various tools taking up most of the wall space. He became an expert at parallel parking, once squeezing six cars into the four-car garage in an effort to balance his growing family with his lifelong hobby.
Once his kids grew up, and moved off to college, he treated himself (and his wife, who loves cars and automotive art, too) to a dream garage at the AutoMotorPlex, and promptly nicknamed it “the man cave.” Their car sanctuary is impeccably organized, as well as beautifully decorated with automotive art and automobilia.
Ten years ago, they met a local artist, Doreen Ingebrigtsen at Brainerd International Raceway. Doreen had donated a beautifully realistic painting of Steve McQueen, and Dr. Ugarte knew he had to have it! Chanting “For a good cause,” he competed against other eager bidders, continuing to raise his bids multiple times… and his perseverance paid off, he won the painting. Afterwards, he and his wife met Doreen and were taken with her down-to-earth personality (as well as her art) and promptly commissioned a painting of Paul Newman.
Using oil and acrylic paints on canvas, Doreen Ingebrigtsen perfectly captures the emotion of the sport while simultaneously celebrating the aesthetic of the brand and the emotion of the actors. Dr. Ugarte’s favorite pieces continue to be those with legendary races and movie icons such as Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and James Garner.
They also have collected numerous model cars, and other automobilia seen throughout their garage. Many items given as
gifts from family who know his love of Porsche and all things classic cars. Other pieces have been acquired at events and dealerships while “on the hunt”. Car auctions definitely make him nervous as he knows he will “want to buy”, and his wife has suggested (delicately), that perhaps he should stay away…
Next up… They plan to ask Doreen about possibly painting James Dean or Patrick Dempsey. Who knows who will be next!
As told to Bruno Silikowski by Dr. Roland Ugarte
Visit www.automobiliaresource.com for more information on automobilia collecting, information and buying opportunities.
GarageLife December 2019 of this story.
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