Inside Pharrell's First-Ever Car Auction
Pharrell Williams is a man who wears many hats. Musician. Designer. Artist. Heck, he’s even famous for wearing actual hats. This week, Williams revved up an entirely different facet of his continuing creative legend, with his burgeoning auction house JOOPITER’s very first car auction, an event dubbed Joyride.
Pharrell, as always, is a pied piper of cool; when he rolls out a fresh idea, tastemakers flock. To celebrate Joyride’s launch this Wednesday, Joopiter shut down Morton Street in New York’s West Village to put an eye-popping collection of wheels on display, and a cavalcade of bold-faced names spilled out of Morton Street Partners’ New York showroom to feast their eyes on the unique fleet.
“I love that JOOPITER is a place where we can experiment and reflect on the way we view certain objects,” Williams told me with a gold-grilled smile. “When we decided to do a car auction, we wanted to bring together artifacts that appeal not only to car collectors but anyone interested in art, design and music.”
Scarr Pimentel with his 1999 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG
On the opening day of what will be a weeklong auction (it wraps up May 8th), guests took selfies in front of twelve sets of ‘80s and ‘90s-era wheels from the personal collections of a range of disparate personalities, from Michael Strahan (a sleek 1991 BMW 850i Dinan) to Ojas’ Devon Turnbull (a 1993 Mercedes-Benz Ojas G-Wagon Overland Truck, expected to fetch around $250,000) and New York pizza icon Scarr Pimental. The latter has three cars in the auction, including a 1993 Nissan Skyline GT-R outfitted with a custom gold-plated engine bay.
“I was asked if I wanted to auction mine off, even though I wasn’t even planning on selling any of my cars,” said Pimental , the eponymous owner of the viral Scarr’s Pizza, with a laugh. Bleary-eyed after flying in from a trip to Saudi Arabia hours earlier and wearing a trademark cap, he eventually figured why not? “I thought it’d be fun.”
A question I had to ask: isn’t owning a car in a place like Manhattan a headache-inducer, though? “I actually like driving around the city—it’s a stress reliever for me,” Pimental replied. “So it’s gonna hurt sales. But, might as well let someone else enjoy them. I’ve got other cars.” Not only that, but the pizza man also has a baby on the way. “I won’t have time to maintain them properly regardless.”
Artist Levi Pitters with a 2008 BMW 328i from Kenny Scharf’s “Karbombz!” series
Naturally, there were also a plethora of Pharrell disciples who just came to gawk. That includes Keith Heron, a fashion designer known for founding the brand Advisry at the ripe old age of 13. “I just love Pharrell and everything he does,” says Heron. “He’s my top inspiration and he curates great things. And I do love cars, a little bit.”
Heron is exactly the kind of customer JOOPITER is pursuing. “I worked at Christie’s for ten years and I think people were scared to walk in there,” said Caitlin Donovan, Joopiter’s Global Head of Sales, as a crowd buzzed around her, taking selfies and sipping Casamigos cocktails. “They were like, ‘Do I have to wear a suit and tie and give a bank reference at the front door?’ We are totally breaking that down, as to what it means to be an auction house and collector.”
“I’m a car fan, but I wouldn’t say I’m a connoisseur,” said the Wilhemina model-slash-premed student Gage Gomez, who walked laps perusing the collection and snapping pictures. “It’s great that someone like Pharrell brings people together, whether they know about cars or not, to just share a creative space and opportunity to appreciate these retro pieces.”
Keep in mind that’s “retro” as in ‘90s retro, an era Gomez has an affinity for. “But it’s fun how now everybody puts a little bit of a personal twist on those ‘80s and ‘90s styles, whether car culture or fashion culture,” said Gomez. “I really love to see that.”
Ferris Bueller with Daniel Arsham’s 1986 Porsche 911
Case in point: A 1986 (or in this case, “1986/2024”) Porsche 911 redesigned by artist Daniel Arsham. Explained Arsham: “Pharrell was like, ‘I’m gonna do something with cars, you have anything?”
Arsham, it turns out, has been fascinated with Porsche since he was a kid; his spin on the vehicle resembles a racing car, complete with stripes and brand logos. “The overall concept was, what if I had a race team and included all the galleries, museums and brands I’ve worked with?”
The result—undoubtedly the first race car ever emblazoned with the logos of American Express, Cooper Union, Dior, Snarkitecture and the Cleveland Cavaliers— is a very personal piece. “I originally made this car for myself,” Arsham admitted. “It was never intended to be in this context, really.”
But when Pharrell beckons, one answers. Eventually the man of the hour himself appeared on Morton Street, as the crowds parted the way and the artist-producer sauntered over to take pictures with Ashram’s wheels. Not far behind was BLACKPINK’s Rosé, a collaborator as of late.
“It’s great to see the creative community in New York come out to celebrate with us,” said Pharrell, looking out on his cadre of car believers from his perch in a loft above the madness. “There’s an amazing energy from young collectors who are excited or even just curious about what we are doing. I’m humbled that we have a part in inspiring them.”