Gojirra99

Sports Car Esconced as Art in Mansion
By Roy Rivenburg, Times Staff Writer
May 13, 2006


Some millionaires decorate their mansions with rare paintings. Richard Moriarty bolted a 1974 Lamborghini to the wall of his Newport Beach estate early Friday.

Because Home Depot doesn't sell kits to hang cars as artwork, Moriarty hired a 70-ton crane to lower the Italian sports car through a skylight in his living room.


Earlier, the car's engine was removed and transformed into a "200-mph coffee table" for guests who prefer their drinks "shaken not stirred," said Moriarty, an heir to the family that developed South Coast Plaza.

Getting the Lamborghini into the house took about an hour, but the project was conceived months ago, when architect Fleetwood Joiner began designing Moriarty's new home, $2-million worth of steel-and-concrete that will overlook Newport's Back Bay when construction finishes later this year.

"This was one of the original ideas for the house," Joiner said. "The skylight was designed to fit the car."

Joiner has installed offbeat elements in previous mansion projects — including indoor rifle ranges, bowling alleys and a 28-foot-high interior waterfall — but the Lamborghini is "one of a kind," he said.

The car will hang over a solid glass staircase leading to Moriarty's wine cellar. The car will also plug into the home's electrical system so its inside lights can be switched on.

Has gasoline gotten so expensive that it's cheaper to turn a Lamborghini into a wall sconce than to drive it?

Not quite. Moriarty, 58, is known for his irreverent tastes. In the 1980s, he organized exotic costume parties, such as his "Pimps, Hookers, Drug Dealers and Lawyers Ball," that drew about 3,000 revelers.

As a teen, he toiled in the lima bean fields that his uncle, Henry Segerstrom, transformed into South Coast Plaza.

More recently, he planted a small vineyard on his 3.5-acre estate and began bottling prize-winning wines under such labels as "Wretched Excess" and "The Idle Rich."

The fermented grapes are aged in a 75-foot-long cave locked with a former KGB prison key.

Outside the cave, catfish and koi swim in a lagoon fed by a 200-foot stream built by Moriarty, who owns an orchid nursery and landscaping business.

A pirate flag flaps nearby and chickens strut around a coop. The automotive addition to Moriarty's cache of curiosities seemed only logical.

"I have a Lamborghini and I've got a big wall," he said.

Moriarty bought the car 10 years ago, paying a collector $60,000. But the upkeep was a nightmare. The gas tank had rust damage, and the engine kept stalling.

"I got tired of having it towed," he said.

On Friday, the sleek black Countach — license plate "FAASST" — was officially retired.

As Moriarty's fiancee, auto mechanic, architect and several friends snapped photos with cellphones and cameras, the car was hoisted 60 feet in the air by the crane.

Then a five-man crew maneuvered the 1,000-pound, engineless vehicle through the skylight and hung it from a steel-reinforced wall with loops of half-inch-thick steel cable.

"It's a beautiful piece of art," Joiner said.

But Moriarty, in flip-flops, shorts and a T-shirt, wasn't quite satisfied.

"I want to stencil some tire marks on the wall," he said. "Seriously."

source : latimes

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

it must be nice to be that bored

Lexmex

I don't see any problem with this. If you have the cash, do you what you enjoy.

In Mexico, it is quite common to see old Mustangs sticking on the side of walls (I actually have offered to buy the one off the wall on a few occasions, but no takers). In colonial America, one indication of how rich you were was based on the number of nails you stuck in your door, which I understand were not cheap then.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

there is nothing wrong, but that doesn't mean it makes sense to some

GFerg

Thats a good looking work of art. If your not gonig to drive it again, might as well show it off in a unique way.

I believe he used the engine as the coffee table as well.

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

watch his wife come out and try to get in and drive it away...

or...

come out and scream... "there's a huge cockaroach on the wall!!"

tuddy

hope that thing never falls...

Richie

Now that is what I call art!!!!

Jewcano

iTrader: (4)

Ahhh...to only dream of having the dough to do stuff like that....not that i would put a car on a wall......

Hameed

The word "art" and the words "make sense" don't always go together Rom!

I think if someone can afford to do anything they want and it is legal, they can call it art and more power to them!

I think it is a great idea! It is sort of like like those fake brake rotor clocks you can buy at your local auto store for $20.00 or less. Now that's the kind of auto art I can afford!

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

I'm getting there!!

Stage3

iTrader: (3)

Looks hot... I wish i had that kind of expendable income!

Ichigo

I saw this news report on tv last night. Pretty cool stuff. Its nice to be rich, maybe one day when Im rich, Ill hang my 2IS on the wall to remind myself of my "humble" beginnings.

AJ

Genius

bruce van

That wicked! I would love to have a Lamborghini hanging on my wall!

As far as art is concerned, an old Countach on the wall is as dramatic and powerful
as a Lichtenstein or Warhol. Probably a lot less too.

I heard of a rich couple in LA who bought a sculpture that was so big, they
had to have the roof taken off to bring it inside the house. Lowering the Countach
through the skylight is brilliant.

I love rich people who spend their money in creative ways.