If there is a place in the United States where vintage Lamborghini and supercar dreams come true it is John Temerian’s mythical dealership and restoration workshop “We are Curated” in Miami. We paid him a visit.
Thank you for having us, John. What’s your oldest memory about cars?
It’s funny, I have two very memorable moments. I still have photos from the day, it was the first time I saw and got a ride in a 1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE30 in Purple. A US-spec car that was delivered new to a friend of my father, Mr. Marcus. I still know where the car is today, it is with a passionate owner in Alaska. It is in a great home. It still wears the same Keith Collins dealer accessory floor mats it had when I was a passenger in 1995. Mr. Marcus brought the car in January 1995 to the Palm Beach Ferrari Cavallino event, it changed my life forever.
And the second one?
The other is a sensory memory: My father brought home a new Rosso on Crema Countach 25th Anniversary. He was completing its first service and took me on the test drive. I vividly remember the smell of the Italian leather, the sound of the USA Fuel Injected Countach power plant, the new Alpine CD player with a Madonna CD on replay. It seems like yesterday!
Was this the start of your passion for cars?
Yes, it inspired me forever. Every time I drive a Countach or a Diablo, it brings me back to those early moments. It’s almost like feeling “home.” Very sentimental and emotional for me.
How did you feed this passion as a teenager?
From around the time I was nine years old till about 19, I spent every weekend and every summer working at my father’s shop. I started by sweeping floors, cleaning tools, and parts. This eventually allowed me to wash cars, and from when I was 13 years old, park and move cars. One summer he lined up my tools and allowed me to change the exhaust on a Testarossa. 15 years old, I spent weeks prepping a Countach for paint. I still love to get my hands dirty and I am fantastic at utilizing masking tape. I learned so much during this time. While other kids were playing baseball or soccer, I was studying VIN numbers and Countach Pirelli P7R tires.
So it was your father who inspired your passion and career?
Yes. My father dedicated his entire life to his passion for Lamborghini and Jaguar. Perfecting the details of his personal cars, collecting signs, memorabilia, parts, toy models. I grew up watching VHS tapes of Lamborghini events, Lamborghini movies, Lamborghini factory tours, commercials that featured Lamborghinis. Everything in my household was Lamborghini. It might sound like some sickness, but I really appreciate today the foundation that my father laid for me. I would not be where I am without his passion.
Compared with your father, what kind of car guy are you?
My father is an OCD perfectionist, who loves to over-restore. He is obsessed with beauty and perfecting originality. I am more in love with the stories, the journey, the visionaries, the eccentric owners who purchased these cars in the 1980s. I am a treasure hunter at heart.
How did your path in the car business start?
I started hosting and producing large scale supercar events in Palm Beach in 2005. I got very lucky that my first event received fantastic press, and I started to network and build from that. At one point, the Palm Beach Supercar Weekend was one of the largest supercar events in the world. Attracting thousands of people and hundreds of cars. This event taught me the genius of branding, marketing, and understanding how to network. I lost everything I had producing these events, but it was the greatest schooling in the world for a 23-year old.
And how did this lead you to create ‘We AreCurated’ in 2015?
Years of failures, years of building relationships, and a realization that I was ready to create something I always dreamed of as a child. I realized that there was a generation of cars that were viewed upon as tacky, silly and therefore thrown away. Cars that inspired all future supercars and that forever changed the landscape of the automotive world. I realized these cars were modern art, yet no one was treating them as such.
Was ‘We Are Curated’ an immediate success?
No, we struggled greatly. We had no money for employees and lived deal by deal with barely enough capital to put deposits on the next purchase. However, we always tried to do things correctly, to the best of our ability and buy ONLY fantastic, unique examples.
Today, Curated is considered to be one of the world’s leading specialists for vintage supercars. How did you achieve that? Was there a specific car that paved your road to success? Or a person?
Meeting my business partners changed my life. They allowed us to grow financially by helping us secure backing from real financial institutions, but most importantly Alan Lazowski and Jim Goetz, taught myself and Jordi Ricart the fundamentals of building a world class business. Most importantly, while taking care of others. Always doing the right thing, looking out for our clients and all stakeholders, including the employees. Jim and Alan inspired us forever.
Why did you chose the name ‘We Are Curated’?
I came up with the name when I realized no one was treating this generation of cars as art. The Countach deserved it, they deserved it and thought it was befitting to use an art term. At first, people did not understand it.
What makes We Are Curated so different from other dealers?
Love. It is our guiding light. We wake up everyday because we want to fulfill dreams. The dreams of our clients, the dreams of our team members. I do not buy any car unless I am in love, and we do not deal in any cars that don’t speak to us. We do everything possible to make sure our clients are happy, delivering turn-key ready cars for concours showing. This is an entire team effort and it is all based in love.
The center of your activities are special and rare Lamborghinis from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Why did you focus on these cars?
It is what I know best and what speaks to me. My father was one of the greatest Lamborghini technicians in the USA during the 1980s and 1990s, and he is OCD. He taught me every detail, he showed me how the cars tick. I have studied VIN numbers, magazines, books and more since I was a young boy. I am not a smart guy, but I have encyclopedic knowledge for these Lamborghinis. My opinion is that they are greatly undervalued. Their importance in the automotive world is just being appreciated and the production numbers are so rare. At one point, I believe the Lamborghini business plan was to sell 187 cars worldwide in 1998. I met so many entrepreneurs and young collectors who had a Countach on their wall. The Countach inspired them to aspire for more. The impact that Lamborghini had on so many generations is much greater than the automotive world. The 1980s and 1990s Lamborghini are the object of success for so many, it embodies the spirit of achievement, dreams and so much more.
The Lamborghinis from that period are wild beasts – what makes them so iconic?
The Lamborghinis of this time were like fine tailored suits. They were all hand-built and extremely rare. They shocked and changed the automotive world forever. They were on the cover of magazines, movies and more. They pushed the other brands to be more bold, more trend-setting. I believe this was a special moment in time – visionaries, engineers and designers were allowed to create some wild machines. These pieces of art attracted even more interesting owners, and this is where many of the journeys become so interesting!
Another important brand in your portfolio is Ferrari..
Yes. Later in the 1990s, my father became one of the largest Tubi-Style dealers in the USA, from that moment I fell in love with the F40, F50 and Testarossa. These cars are modern art, they are usable and timeless. The F40 and F50 are the closest versions of racing cars for the road of the time. In my eyes they represent the most authentic and important cars the brand will ever build.
What’s in your opinion the greatest car design ever? And why?
Marcello Gandini – his wedge shape has forever changed the automotive world. Still today his designs are perfect. I consider him one of the great masters.
And who was the greatest engineer?
I am always impressed by the developments and engineering of the young Romano Artioli and the engineers at his Bugatti company in the 1990s. In a few years they put together one of the most interesting Supercars of its time. Quad-Turbo, Carbon Monocoque, AWD… with fantastic fit and finish. The cars do not feel as if they came from a start up. They are well thought out and extremely impressive.
In this business the knowledge to distinguish the right cars from the rest is key. How did you acquire that?
Through research. If I did not know the specific history of a car, I would always rely on other experts for help. I am lucky enough to know the details of so many cars. Researching a car is a treasure hunt, it is telling the story, it is digging, it is understanding the former owners, their stories. Then obviously, physical inspection. Many times, I fall in love with untouched low mileage cars, even though they have not been serviced, sitting on original tires, I know that no one has messed with them, it’s our job to save them and bring them back to life. Small details are so important to me, wear on the original interior, original accessories, etc.
How would you describe the evolution of the market for these cars in the last five to ten years?
For the first time, the supercars of the 1980s and 1990s are being appreciated by collectors as both assets and user friendly collectibles. They have become cherished by numerous generations young and old.
And what would you predict for the future?
I think cars such as the original early Lamborghini Countach LP400 S “Low Body” cars, the first early Countach examples with flares and wide wheels, will be seen as modern art. I believe this is the start. Supercars in general are slowly being accepted as an asset class, yet, there is no other asset class in the world with as much passion and excitement surrounding it. I think the momentum for usable, rare, analog supercars is just beginning. Every year the average age of our clients goes younger and younger which is very exciting for the future of the hobby. Growing up, no one in my school knew what a Porsche 959 or Ferrari F50 was. Today? Thousands, if not millions of young kids and adults are learning through social media and video games. A passion has been ignited that is unparalleled in the history of the automotive world. The most important brands are Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche. Meanwhile, We Are Curated is not only a dealership – we also have a workshop right behind the showroom, and we’re expanding!
Which services and skills does your workshop offer?
The workshop is strictly to prepare our cars for the next caretaker. We have an incredible group of individuals from around the world that help us preserve, restore and perfect these gems.
Where do you see ‘We Are Curated’ in 10 years?
I do not want to sell more cars, rather elevate the experience. I believe the cars we deal in today will double in value, and I believe they will be coveted more than ever. That means we have to do a much better job at research, documenting and the history! I hate to consider us car dealers, I really like to focus on being historians. Chasing, pursuing details, facts, stories and history. More content is coming, more stories and deeper dives into the details.
Which cars are you most proud to have handled?
Okay, so here are my favorite 10: The Monaco Grand Prix Countach, Porsche GT1 Strassenversion, Miami Vice Testarossa, AMG Hammer prototype, F40LM, Diablo GT Jota P01, Ford Shelby Cobra Concept, Wolf of Wall Street Countach, Miura SVJ, Final Production Enzo.
Is there a dream car that you’d like to find and propose for sale one day?
It is believed that the Pagani influenced the Countach Evoluzione that was destroyed during testing: A Carbon chassis, bare alloy Countach with Carbon Fiber everywhere. I do not want to believe it is gone, sadly it might be!
Do you own cars yourself? Do you have your own collection?
Yes, I personally own my dream car, a 1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE30. A few years ago I took a loan to purchase this and a Countach. I do not think I could ever sell them again.
Last week, your showcased some very interesting cars at the Monterey Week and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Can you please tell us which cars you brought to California and how it felt to show them on this special stage?
Last week we had the honor to bring some fantastic cars to both the Quail and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The one-off Lotec C1000, 1 of 5 manual Murcielago LP670-SV, an Argento Ferrari F40, and the Kode 0. The experience was surreal. It’s a moment where all the hard work, passion, and dedication to preserving these art pieces come to life. It is a privilege just to be invited, showing amongst legends, artisans and greats in the industry. Playing a part in the cars history, contributing to a legacy, and being responsible for their preservation. Bringing home an award was an unbelievable honor and a true testament to our team’s endless effort to help preserve each car’s story. We’re beyond grateful to have been a small part of an iconic weekand to be part of a community that shares our deep love and passion for these cars. Each year feels like a dream.
Do you consider yourself a Classic Driver?
Until recently, I had never ordered or purchased a new car for myself. While the technology can be incredible, new cars do not have the soul of the cars from our past. I will always be a Classic Driver.
Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver
