Community Corner
Concours de Tax Rolls: Darien's 50 Priciest Rides
There are no Hondas, Toyotas, General Motors or Chryslers among the priciest 50 cars owned in Darien—instead you'll find Ferraris, Maseratis, Bentleys, Aston Martins, Mercedes Benzes and one single Jaguar (No. 33).
The Darien residents who own Italian, British, French and German luxury cars may be spending the money on themselves, but they're doing a bit for the town tax base, as well.
The 50 cars with the highest tax assessments for Oct. 1, 2011 were given a combined net assessment of $4,591,410 (at 70 percent of the real value assessors put on the vehicles).
If they were taxed at the current mill rate of $12.20 and their owners receive no tax exemptions (there aren't many exemptions), the town would receive $56,015.
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For by the Darien , the town counted 58 more vehicles in taxpayers' hands on Oct. 1 than it did 12 months earlier.
According to the Assessor's Office, town taxpayers own a total of 17,773 motor vehicles, and the average vehicle is valued at $18,730.
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There are 15,087 passenger vehicles, 197 commercial vehicles, another 869 combination vehicles and two farm vehicles. The rest—and there are 1,618 of them—are simply listed as "other registered motor vehicles."
The most expensive vehicle in Darien is a Ferrari 599 GTO, with an assessed value of $280,000 (that's 70 percent of the estimated market value). Ole A. Halvorsen is the owner.
Among the owners of the 50 most expensive vehicles in town, only three women's names pop up (No. 15, Patricia L. Rogers; No. 19, Paula J. Larkin; and No. 20, Anuradha T. Milewski). Businesses own 10 other vehicles (Porsche Leasing Ltd. owns five;Putnam Leasing Co. owns two), and trusts are named as the owners of two other vehicles (DCFS Trust and Daimler Trust).
A taste for expensive cars seems to run in families. The list includes three vehicles owned by people with the last name of Noujaim (Alexander J., No. 32, a Ferra Spyder; Alexander—perhaps the same individual—No. 36, a Bentley Continental; Fares D. Noujaim Jr., No. 35, another Bentley Continental). There's also a James B. Lee Jr. (No. 2; a Ferrari 599 GTB) and a James B. Lee (No. 38; a Mercedes S55OV4).
What make is most popular among Darien's high-flying drivers? Porsche, with nine vehicles on the list, edges out Aston Martin and Ferrari (each with eight), and Maserati and Bentley (seven each).
Here are the other 49 most expensive rides in Darien, with their assessments and owners.
Rank Owner Vehicle make and model70% Assessment 1 Ole A. Halvorsen Ferrari 599 GTO $280,000 2 James B. Lee Jr. Ferrari 599 GTB $188,220 3 Gavin Gillbert Ferrari 458 Italia $156,170 4 William H. Jennings II Ferrari 458 Italia $156,170 5 Robert A. Minicucci Ferrari 612 Scaglietti $143,850 6 John A. Fichthorn Aston Martin Rapide $137,900 7 Bryan C. Cary Ferrari 599 GBT Fiorano $137,200 8 Putnam Leasing Co. I, LLC Aston Martin Vanquish $111,590 9 Thomas Cornacchia Ferrari F430 $108,900 10 Andrew H. Benenson Aston Martin DB5 $108,900 11 John E. Lopat "KYRV HR38KBTS" $100,830 12 Kryzysztof P. Wolyniec Maserati Granturismo $95,200 13 Steven J. Wilkos Porsche 922 Turbo $94,530 14 Thomas Linton Holliday Aston Martin V8 Vantage $92,340 15 Patricia L. Rogers Maserati Quattroporte $91,670 16 William R. Sperry Maserati Granturismo $91,670 17 Colangelo Synergy "AMERI AMD" $88,270 18 Christopher Van Munching Bentley Continental $86,040 19 Paula J. Larkin Bentley Continental $86,040 20 Anuradha T. Milewski Aston Martin Vantage $86,040 21 Mark B. Florian Maserati Quattroporte $84,700 22 Arthur W. Hooper Jr. Aston Martin V8 Vantage $82,600 23 Michael L. Deaddio Jr. Maserati Granturismo $82,600 24 DCFS Trust Mercedes Benz CL600 $80,880 25 David C. Saunders Maserati Quattroporte $80,000 26 Bhinesh Patel Maserati Quattroporte $80,000 27 Porsche Leasing Ltd. Porsche Cayenne $73,360 28 Porsche Leasing Ltd. Porsche Cayenne $73,360 29 Porsche Leasing Ltd. Porsche Cayenne $73,360 30 Porsche Leasing Ltd. Porsche Cayenne $73,360 31 Travis T. West Jr. Porsche Cayenne $73,360 32 Alexander J. Noujaim Ferrari Spyder $73,360 33 James W. Cuminale Jaguar XKR-S $71,930 34 Stephen E. Bepler Jr. Bentley Continental $71,260 35 Fares D. Noujaim Jr. Bentley Continental $71,260 36 Alexander Noujaim
Bentley Continental
Flying Spur
$71,260 37 John Larock Bentley Continental $71,260 38 James B. Lee Mercedes Benz S550 V4 $68,000 39 Dimitrios Stratakis Aston Martin DB9 $68,000 40 Michael K. Lorelli Mercedes Benz SL550 $67,900 41 Daimler Trust Mercedes Benz SL550 $67,880 42 Robert F. Flood 3rd Mercedes Benz SL550 $67,660 43 Jonathan Y. Li Mercedes Benz SL550 $67,660 44 Whitney Lancaster Mercedes Benz S550 V4 $67,660 45 Putnam Leasing Co. I, LLC Bentley Continental $64,540 46 John W. Fraser Porsche 911 Carrera $64,540 47 Porsche Leasing Ltd. Porsche Carrera $64,540 48 Christopher H. Miller Jr. Porsche Carrera $64,540 49 Colin J. McKay Aston Martin DB9 $64,530 50 Robert B. McKeon Aston Martin V12 $64,510Editor's note: This article originally was published on Tuesday, Feb. 7. The time stamp has been changed for layout purposes on the Home page of Darien Patch.
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Correction: "Concours" is not spelled with an "e" at the end. The headline is now fixed.
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