Living by the mantra: dream, believe, create and achieve, Andy Roberts is the former captain of NSL club Newcastle United and the owner of a men’s clothing store. More importantly, he has one of Australia’s coolest Porsche collections.
His garage celebrates both classic and modern models, paying tribute to iconic figures like James Dean and Steve McQueen. The first of those is a meticulously created replica that bears the same paint scheme as the original “130” 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder.
Built to match the car in which the famous actor was killed, it’s one piece of a fandom for Porsche that goes a long way past simply owning a special piece of motoring history. Andy also visited the site of Dean’s fatal crash in Cholame, California.
He took his two sons along for the ride, to pay tribute to the Hollywood icon and legendary racer. Beyond the Spyder, he also owns a 1970 911 S; a nod to McQueen, and a replica of the car he drove in the opening sequence of Le Mans.
You’ll also find examples of 1970s and 80s Porsches in his collection, including a 1977 924 Martini and a 1981 924 Turbo, demonstrating an appreciation for the German marque’s racing heritage. He hasn’t ignored Stuttgart’s modern range either.
A 2024 Macan T and a 2025 Macan GTS in lurid Python Green round out an epic suite of vehicles. The well-known community figure in the Hunter region of NSW and an ambassador for Porsche Centre Newcastle hasn’t just settled on a car collection though.
His garage is a true enthusiast’s heaven, filled with automotive memorabilia collected over the past 35 years, including posters, neon signs, pinball machines (including an ultra-rare KISS example), and vintage petrol pumps.
It’s all housed in a space he’s even opened to the public in the past. Andy’s story reflects a broader trend revealed in eBay Australia’s recent 2025 State of Collectables Report, revealing roughly 7.6 million Australians actively own memorabilia and souvenirs.
Those collections have a combined dollar value of an estimated $16.8 billion and cover everything from Star Wars figurines, to trading cards, classic motorcycles and cars (with the latter spanning some 402,000 Aussies).
“It brings people together from all around the world,” he said of his love of collectibles, and in particular his passion for classic cars. His restored 1957 Volkswagen Samba for example, came from a wreck in California.
It’s a journey that began at 19, having been introduced to a myriad of motor vehicles in car yards as a kid, with his dad. Along the way, the now 55-year-old has owned everything from a Carrera kitted whale-tail Volkswagen Beetle to his swag of Porsches (23 in all).
At one point, the man nicknamed The General, owned 15 cars, and in a life filled with a passion for the classics, he’s visited Germany 14 times, including twice making the pilgrimage to Porsche headquarters in Stuttgart.
It was on one such visit, back in 2012, that he rented a brand new 911, promptly whipping it onto the nearest autobahn for a 250km/h sprint as part of a trip from Munich to Zurich in Switzerland.
You can hear the joy in Andy Roberts’ voice when he talks about that trip, and when he discusses his cars. It’s clear he has a passion – and one which is reflected in the collection that can be found in his garage.
