It’s a car thing
If you don’t have the parking space for the real thing, how about a collection of model cars?
How do you own Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bugattis, Mercedes and classic cars from all around the world without running out of parking space? You collect die-cast model cars – miniature replicas of the original thing.
This is Varouj Kazandjian’s passion. Hundreds of cars line a showcase of automobile history above his shop in Larnaca. “I don’t believe anyone is as passionate about them as me,” says Varouj. “They are my friends, I talk to them – I say good morning, and in the evening, I say good night. I love the real thing, it’s in my blood.
“Every evening, after office hours, I stay here, sometimes until midnight. I clean them, rearrange them and decide which one goes with which.”
Varouj, who speaks six languages, is Armenian, but was born and lived in Lebanon. “Before the war, when Lebanon was a paradise,” he recalls, “I used to be a rally driver, and I have many trophies, I was very good at it. Since I was a kid I always loved four wheels.
“When I see these cars can you imagine what memories they bring? When I look at this Renault, for example,” he says picking up a small red car, “I remember one of my friends who owned one in Lebanon, and another which was owned by my brother, another by my father.
“My favourite section is the famous classic cars, they become more and more valuable – the BMW, Beetle, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Cobra, 1944 Aston Martin, 1947 MG, famous Jag E type, Triumph, Cortina, the famous Morris Minors, they are fantastic, the Fiat 600, you name it – there is everything, all the cars of the world.”
I notice a quirky little bubble car, which amazingly turned out to be a BMW Isetta, the entire front end of this car hinges outwards to allow entry; a host of super-sleek Ferraris including champion Michael Schumacher’s; and a 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. This was the fastest car of its era, outperforming all other cars and inspiring what was considered the first rock ‘n’ roll song.
Varouj came to Cyprus in 1980 and was a regular reader of Classic and Sports Car magazine, in which an advert for a legendary Cobra AC 427 caught his eye. “That was the first thing that came to my attention. It was the first car I ordered because I was so impressed with the photo and I thought this seems to be a good idea. Now the sky’s the limit because every week there are new arrivals. I have visited most of the factories in Europe and I’m on their mailing lists so they always keep me updated. They send me their catalogues with prices and that’s how I choose my cars.
“I have some friends who are collectors in Larnaca, England and France. We exchange ideas, tell each other what’s new in the market, what to expect in three months, which new models are going to come out, things like that.
“In Cyprus they are not serious collectors like in Europe, England or Japan. The Japanese are number one when it comes to collecting. They have full buildings just for that purpose.”
Varouj is also lucky enough to have the support of his family in this hobby. “My family started to like it more than me! I have a son and a daughter who are adults. They really support the idea; they buy me gift vouchers as presents because for someone to buy me a car is almost impossible as I might have that one. I am the only one who knows which one I need.
“My wife helps with cleaning and taking care of them – we share that. There are some people who think it’s a waste of time, like in everything there are some people who do not appreciate what I do.” But Varouj does not take heed of cynics. His collection is fascinating.
But how much has it all cost? “I wouldn’t want to work it out, but you could take the average of around £25 for each big one, I have here, and I have around 1,500 of those, and 1:43 scale another 800.”
“I’m thinking of starting a club if I find sufficient support. I don’t know how many serious collectors there are in Cyprus.”
So which car does such an ardent devotee of all things four-wheeled drive? “I’m an Alfa Romeo driver – I’ve driven all the models you can think of, and I still drive one.”
As I looked through Varouj’s Autovision Model Car Gallery I felt amazed. The more you look, the more you want to see. The cars draw you in and I could see Varouj’s point entirely – each car really does have its own beauty.
