HORSEPOWER TRADING

A COLLECTOR-CAR AUCTIONEER REFLECTS ON HIS CAREER PATH.

- RORY CARROLL

AUCTIONEER CHARLIE ROSS makes a living by selling dreams to other people. Well known as the man with the gavel at Gooding & Company’s classic-car auctions, Ross never expected to sell things like a $20.5 million McLaren F1 or a $22 million Duesenberg SSJ when he started out. In fact, before his time at Gooding, he had never even set foot in the United States. Road & Track caught up with Ross via telephone to hear more about his dream job.

R&T: You wanted to be a dentist as a kid, and it didn’t work out for you. Are you glad?

CHARLIE ROSS: Oh, I’m absolutely thrilled to bits. I couldn’t imagine spending my life looking down people’s mouths, to be perfectly honest.

R&T: You left home at 18 and ended up auctioning, very famously, some poultry?