Inventor of the jumping castle’s 140-piece car collection for auction

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 14.10.2020

Turns out the inventor of the jumping castle was a massive petrolhead, amassing hundreds of cars in his life

Bob Regehr is a name you may not be familiar with as the inventor of the popular bouncing castle; but in his private life he was a massive petrolhead and amassed a car collection of over 200 classic vehicles before his death in September 2019.

Later this month on October 24, 140 of his vehicles will be going under the hammer at a dedicated sale handled by VanDerBrink auctioneers in Kansas, USA.

READ NEXT: TOUR THROUGH THIS 300-CAR COLLECTION UNCOVERED IN THE US

A lifelong car-nut: Regehr purchased his first vehicle – a 1940 Mercury - when he was just 14 years old. His early career saw him become a car salesman, before he later opened a Texaco-franchised petrol station.

The petrol station was successful enough for Regehr to continue to fuel his collectible hobby, in fact, legend has it that he’d frequently offers on cars which caught his fancy that came in for petrol.

When he was 28 years old, he had the idea to put a cover on a trampoline, debuting his creation at the 1968 Chicago World Fair. He would go on to patent the jumping castle, which yielded significant financial success, no doubt allowing Regehr to indulge his passion even further.

A notoriously private figure, Regehr’s collection was first publicised in a feature by Hot Rod Magazine in 2009; who reported that the expansive collection was housed in various nondescript garages, barns and buildings all over the US countryside.

Even back then, Regehr had reportedly lost track of exactly what he owned; although he clearly had a penchant for the Blue Oval, with over 50 Fords taking part in the auction.

1932 Fords in particular seemed to be a favourite, with almost 20 in the collection. Also included are two rare 1930s Ford B400 two-door convertible sedans which were originally US Embassy cars in Europe.

The other two ‘Big Three’ manufacturers are well represented though, with a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Indy Pace Car, various Corvettes (including a ’58 Fuelie), a rare ’53 Buick Skylark, and a ’55 Dodge Coronet Hemi all taking part in the sale. There are far too many more cars to mention, as well as some tractors, and a large cache of rare spares up for grabs.

Watch the video above for a look at part of the Bob Regehr’s massive collection, and interested parties may view more information on the sale at Vanderbrinkauctions.com

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