Driving purpose: How the Turtle Invitational is reimagining car culture
By Kristen Oliveri
For Philip Richter, investor, advisor, and lifelong car enthusiast, the world of collectible automobiles is not about horsepower or price tags. It’s about history, humanity, and the stories that bind people together.
As co-founder of Hollow Brook Wealth Management and creator of the Turtle Invitational, a biennial car event held on his 130-acre farm in Bedford, New York, Richter has built something far more meaningful than a traditional car show. He has engineered a gathering that blends passion, education, community, philanthropy and one that honors the past while inspiring the next generation.
A legacy that started in Greenwich
The roots of the Turtle Invitational trace back to Richter’s childhood friendship with Malcolm Pray—the nation’s first standalone Audi/Porsche dealer and a towering figure in the collector car world. Pray son was Richter’s best friend, and he spent countless days immersed in his expansive garage, absorbing not just his passion for automobiles, but also his philosophy that cars are not trophies.
They are tools to inspire, educate, and empower.
When Pray passed away in 2013, Richter joined the board of the Pray Family Foundation to continue his work, including the foundation’s efforts to motivate underprivileged youth through exposure to cars, mentorship, and character-building lessons. The foundation’s programs, now sharper and more accessible to today’s students, continue to transform young lives.
The birth of the Turtle Invitational
After Pray passing, Richter found himself asking a simple question, “What if we created a car event that wasn’t about ego or perfection, but about people, stories, and meaning?” he said.
He had the perfect venue: a sprawling Bedford farm affectionately known as Turtle Garage.
And so in 2017, the Turtle Invitational was born. What started as a modest gathering quickly grew into a celebration of automobile history and culture. Today, the event draws over 1,000 spectators, a six-figure operating budget, and participants from across the U.S., Europe, and beyond.
2025 marked their biggest event yet, featuring more than $300 million in automobiles on the showfield and honoring collector-car luminary Tom Cotter. A fireside chat with Wayne Carini, insights from Jonathan Witmer, CEO of Revs Institute, and top voices in the industry elevated the weekend into a salon-style experience that was rich in storytelling, intellect and connection.
Reinventing the car show: Meaning over perfection
Traditional concours events lean heavily on flawless restorations, rigid judging criteria, and exclusivity. The Turtle Invitational intentionally breaks that mold. “We wanted to bring it back to being about people,” Richter explained. “And honoring automobiles not for their value, but for the role they’ve played in someone’s life or in history.”
Luminaries lead discussions on design, valuation trends, and the evolution of younger collectors, especially their growing passion for Japanese sports cars and culturally iconic vehicles.
Held every other year to preserve its intimacy and energy, the Turtle Invitational unfolds like a weekend-long festival. On Friday night there is a private, catered dinner in Turtle Garage, followed by seminar-style conversations with industry leaders that are sometimes car-related, sometimes not, designed to spark creativity and curiosity.
On the Saturday, there is a long, scenic drive with a state trooper escort, offering owners the rare chance to experience their cars as they were meant to be driven. And Sunday culminates in the main showfield event, featuring curated automobiles, expert commentary, youth judging, and a vibrant community of enthusiasts, collectors and supporters.
“It is clearly a labor of love supported by a board of passionate people across the country,” added Richter.
Looking ahead: Turtle Invitational 2.0
The Turtle Invitational is entering its next chapter. Richter and the foundation are building a younger advisory board, eager to bring fresh perspectives on what cars matter and why. The focus is shifting toward cultural relevance, storytelling, and legacy, ensuring the event remains accessible and inspiring to future generations.
In the off-years, they host curated driving rallies, most recently to Cooperstown, New York, and share learning resources, photos, and updates through the event website to keep the community engaged.
For Richter, the Turtle Invitational is more than a car event. It is a tribute to his late friend, to the transformative power of mentorship, and to the belief that history and humanity matter just as much as horsepower.