The scene is enough to make a car buff swoon: More than two dozen cars, from vintage Ferraris and Corvettes to rarer species of steel and speed, lined up in several rows. Each chassis has been restored to its original luster, its streamlined muscle stunning.

But this is not a museum.

The cars are regularly driven on racetracks in Europe and the United States by real estate mogul John Goodman, who painstakingly collected each one. The chairman of Goodman Real Estate, Pinnacle and Triad Development is among car aficionados in the Seattle area whose collections, worth millions, would impress the most jaded car buff.

"I like my Ferraris the best. They're very unique, very rare," says Goodman, who has seven of them. He also owns street Corvettes manufactured during every year from 1953 to 1968, along with several racing Corvettes, a 1964 AC Cobra, a 1958 Devin SS and other vehicles. Thirty-four very cool cars in all, each worth more than a quarter-million dollars and watched over by Walter Gerber, a Swiss-born mechanic who runs Gerber Motorsports out of Goodman's building.

Gerber has experienced more than his fair share of expensive and fast cars during a 40-year career touring every major track in Europe, Australia and the United States as one of Porsche's lead team managers.

"I think every car in here has some story behind it, where they came from, how he found them. Some he was following for years," Gerber says of Goodman's 34 cars. Of a 1970 512M Ferrari, he says, "If you can feel this run, it'll give you goose bumps. It still gives me goose bumps."

Michael Malone, a friend of Goodman's, owns more than 30 vintage cars, including a 1959 Lotus 15 Le Mans and 1968 Porsche 908 Short Tail -- each is one of only three of that model produced. He also has a 1967 Porsche 910 that's one of 18 produced and a 1959 250 Testa Rossa Ferrari worth millions of dollars. Malone, the founder of AEI Music (owned by DMX Music since 2000), owns several hotel properties, including Seattle's historic Sorrento Hotel, and is a principal of Hunters Capital LLC, a real estate development and management company. He also is chairman of Erin Air, a jet charter company.

Both Malone and Goodman are members of SOVREN, the Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts, which has more than 400 members in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. They are known as aggressive, skilled drivers and have racked up trophies as individuals and as members of teams.

For Malone, placing fifth in the 24 Hours at Le Mans race in France in July 2007 was "a highlight of my career. I can relax a little, now ... by maybe going for third ... or first," he jokes. Goodman also came in second by half a car length at the Ferrari Challenge in Sonoma, Calif., in May. It was an exciting race in which he and the winner traded the lead several times.

Competition is certainly a draw for these leaders of the business world, but their obsession with fast cars is as much about history and style. "I'm a car collector first and a racer second," says Malone. "It's the look of the car and the history of the car that are so important. It's the aesthetic."

Ken McBride, founder and CEO of McBride Construction, agrees. He keeps his 30 cars -- classics, hot rods and limited editions -- just down the street from Goodman's garage. Though he races occasionally, McBride frequently shows his vehicles and drives on rallies with his wife, Patty, whom he calls "the ultimate car wife." Last April, they drove their 1912 Silver Ghost Rolls-Royce 680 miles through the California wine country.