What Herb Chambers drives

(Photos by Michael Manning as part of an advertising supplement to the Boston Globe)

Herb Chambers purchased his first car dealership in 1985 in New London, Conn. Today, Chambers owns 31 dealerships, and he’s about to buy three more, all within 50 miles of Boston.

Shown here is his 2006 silver Mercedes McLaren SLR, with a top speed of 205 mph.

Chambers’ passion for driving high-performance autos fuels his love for the business. He likes to drive a lot of different cars so he knows what they can do.

This 1995 silver McLaren F1 is just one of 65 in the world. It has 627 horesepower and a top speed of 240 mph.

“I drive people at my dealerships crazy because I love cars so much. I’ll go in and say, ‘Is this one sold?’ If not, I’ll say, ‘I want to take it.’”

His 1973 red Ferrari Daytona Spyder convertible has a whopping 12 cylinders.

Chambers keeps a rotating collection of between 15 and 20 spectacular new and vintage cars at his home in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

This 1973 gold Ferrari Daytona Coupe is a true muscle car with 12 cylinders.

One of his newer cars includes this 2006 orange and blue Ford GT.

This 1987 red Porsche 959 Supercar has all-wheel drive, a suspension that goes up and down and can achieve 205 mph.

His 2006 red Porsche GT has a t-top, rear engine, and 10 cylinders.

Only 1100 of these 1955 Mercedes Gullwings were made. This red model was raced in Cannonball Run in 1983 and received third place. It also raced in Italy.

This 1959 Cadillac Biarritz Convertible Eldorado cost a mere $13,000 in 1959 and is now worth close to $100,000.

His 1932 Ford Coupe was made in Hollywood California. It has a Corvette suspension, five windows, a steel body, and a 350 horsepower engine.

As a boy, Chambers used to ride his bike to look at new Buicks at a local dealership.

“In Dorchester, if you had a new car, people thought you were rich,” Chambers said.

Shown here is a group shot of just some of the cars in his collection.

When Chambers was asked what his pet peeve is when it comes to other drivers, he replied, "People who drive in the left lane and go very slow."

Shown here is Herb in one of his classic gullwing cars.