Taggart Autosport in Cary offers exclusive car-buying experience | News & Observer

Taggart Autosport, known for its exotic sports cars and off-road extreme vehicles, recently scored its biggest sales yet.

“Last month, we had a chance to buy two Porsche 918 Spyders,” said owner Jim Taggart. “I got to drive one of them around the block.”

They sold for $1.6 million and $1.7 million.

Those kinds of cars are the bread and butter for Taggart Autosport, which has an appointment-only showroom for its customers.

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“When someone comes in, they have the showroom to themselves,” Taggart said. “They can test drive any car they want. We will deliver it to their office and make it a high-end experience.”

Taggart always has been a car guy, eventually taking his need for speed to the race track.

“I jumped into racing with both feet,” he said. “I started racing sports cars and raced a couple years, won some awards and turned pro. I raced at Daytona and did a lot of cool stuff.”

But something kept nagging him to start a business, he said. Taggart had sold his pharmaceutical business in 2010 and was ready to take on a new venture.

“I thought it would be really neat to start something with cars,” he said.

“I bought an old Volvo dealership, so it was set up perfectly for us,” he said. “I said, ‘I’m going to offer high-end exotic sports cars to people in the Triangle where they haven’t had the opportunity to have a dealership like that before.’ ”

Taggart Autosport opened in July. The nearest similar dealership is in Greensboro.

“We are also doing high-end off-road vehicles that we are building ourselves,” he said. “We take a brand new Jeep and trick it out to be an off-road extreme vehicle.”

Customizing the cars for car-lovers, who are mostly men, is just one aspect Taggart loves about his business.

“I’m living the dream,” he said. “There are tons of options you can do to these. That’s really exciting. Just buying and shining up is great, but that creative part of it is what I love.”

Prices cover the gamut. Some are $50,000 while others reach up to $500,000. A yellow Lamborghini convertible, for example, with 13,000 miles is about $100,000, Taggart said. It was bought at auction and detailed to perfection.

Taggart loves when a new car rolls into the showroom.

“I have the unenviable job of when we get a new car in, I drive it for a few days and check it out,” he jokes. “It’s an awful, awful job.”

Ever the entrepreneur, Taggart has discovered another use for his pristine showroom.

“A lot of people want to hold events at our location,” he said. “It’s a good place for a cocktail party.”

And while he will not rent out to just anybody, he is careful not to be too exclusive.

“We don’t want to be snobbish,” he said. “A lot of high-end dealerships are that way.”

Taggart, who moved to Cary after college 30 years ago, couldn’t be happier with where the years have taken him.

“I had no clue I’d be doing this, and be this lucky to be doing it in Cary. I love it here.”