European Corvette Collection - Dutch Treat

One of the most exciting things about being involved in the Corvette hobby is having the chance to experience the many ways in which different owners enjoy their cars. Some modify and race their Vettes, while others drive them daily and show them on weekends. There's even a small group whose members enjoy buying Corvettes and putting them on permanent display. Over the years, we at Team VETTE have been privileged to visit many of these Corvette collections.

Recently, we met the Boers, a family of Corvette enthusiasts who are fully committed to preserving the car's proud heritage. Father Andre Boer bought his first Vette-a silver '76 with red interior-in 1979. Three months later, he purchased a '66 convertible, quickly followed by a blue '74 big-block coupe. The difference between Andre Boer and most Corvette owners is that he has kept more cars than he has sold. To date, he has accumulated more than 100! Sixty of them are on permanent display in a beautiful glass-and-brick museum.

Believe it or not, the Boers are not American. In fact, they don't even live in the States. The Boers hail from the small Dutch town of Wezep, located 85 km (around 53 miles) north of Amsterdam. We are able to bring you their story thanks to Corvette Europe Brand Manager Koos Pettinga, who introduced us to them during our recent Dream Car Garage trip.

We were unprepared for what we found. Corvettes were everywhere, neatly parked side-by-side in multiple rows. If you have a favorite model year, Andre Boer probably has one (or more) somewhere. They are displayed by generations, from First to Sixth.

Our tour started with a white '54. It was parked in a row beside six other First-generation Vettes, culminating with a silver '62. The Second-generation row began with a red split-window and ended with a black '67 big-block coupe. Speaking of '67s, Boer is also the proud owner of a black-and-red 427/435 convertible that shows only 34,909 miles and is Bloomington Gold Certified.

Next, we inspected Boer's Third-generation collection, which starts with a yellow '68 small-block coupe and ends with an '82 Collector Edition. His Fourth-generation Vettes include an '84 Greenwood coupe, three ZR-1s, a '95 Indy pace car, and an '89 Callaway twin-turbo coupe.

Our tour ended near a row of C5s and two special C6s. The Fifth-generation cars include a '98 pace car and several Z06s. Boer is especially proud of his silver '05 convertible, which was the first C6 imported into Europe and was used as a factory display car at the '05 Geneva Auto Show and other automotive events. The latest addition to the collection is a C6 Z06 that carries chassis No. 52. It was the first C6 Z06 brought to Europe and was driven by then-Corvette Chief Engineer Dave Hill in the '05 Le Mans Parade des Pilotes. It was also a factory show car at the '05 and '06 Geneva Shows.

Once our tour had concluded, Boer gave everyone rides in his beautiful '67 big-block convertible. The rumble of the side pipes reverberating throughout the Wezep neighborhood was pure music. Later, he took us to three large warehouses near his museum. These were filled with partially restored Corvettes and others that had been badly crashed. The crashed cars are now used for hard-to-find parts, which are catalogued and stored in bins nearby.

Although our tour ended much too quickly, we left Andre Boer and his family with a new appreciation for the considerable impact the Corvette has had on people around the world. If you're ever in the Netherlands, we encourage you to visit this fabulous collection. It's open to the public Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.