Rick Treworgy, who founded Muscle Car City Museum in Punta Gorda, died at 74, local officials confirmed.
While he was best known as the owner of hundreds of classic cars, some of which he put on display in the now-closed museum, Treworgy also was the owner of several companies and had vast land holdings in the area.
One of his former properties in Punta Gorda off Jones Loop Road is being developed into a residential community. He had real estate partnerships with Bruce Laishley, a restaurateur and entrepreneur who was instrumental in bringing food service distributor Cheney Brothers to Charlotte County, and local entrepreneur Ron Evans.
But it was Muscle Car City Museum, which opened in March 2009, that Treworgy was best known for. The museum put Punta Gorda on the map, said Punta Gorda City Council member Bill Dryburgh. “He was a great guy who did so much for this community,” he said.
Treworgy, a Punta Gorda resident since age 10, bought his first car at age 14. He went on to own about 280 cars, with the bulk of the antique vehicles once on display in a former Sweetbay he bought for $3 million cash off the auction block in 2014.
In a 2011 interview, Treworgy said as a young man he decided to plan for his retirement and began collecting and restoring classic General Motors high-performance muscle cars.
Although cars were his passion, he had numerous business ventures in Charlotte County, many of which included real estate. A number of years ago, Treworgy and Laishley sold the front yard waste landfill on Zemel Road for about $80 million.
Treworgy closed his museum in 2022, a year earlier than he thought he would retire, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the closing, he auctioned off more than 200 of his classic cars, many of which fetched above market value due to their rarity.
Mecum Auctions, which ran the auction, brought in more than $18 million for the vehicles.
His daughter, April Treworgy, managed Muscle Car City Museum, which also had a diner, gift shop, car parts store and art gallery.
As news spread of Treworgy’s death, comments began to pour in by those who knew and befriended him.
Danny Nix, a commercial Realtor who is president of the local Realtors association, called his death tragic. “We have lost an absolutely amazing man in our community,” said Nix, who spoke weekly with Treworgy. “Our community is better because of Rick’s participation in the community.”
He said Treworgy and Laishley have been the most intelligent people involved in business development and are what the community needed.
“They are the titans of industry,” Nix said.