Will Bean, general manager of Skyway Motorspace and Motorcars in Palmetto, describes the business at its core as a climate-controlled, high-end auto storage facility built to hold roughly 450 vehicles, whether Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis or simply a snowbird's daily driver parked safely through hurricane season. A standard storage package runs $400 a month and includes a covered, secured, name-tracked space along with access to a golf simulator with 400 virtual courses, a racing simulator and a conference room the facility's business-owner clients often use as a change of scenery from the office.
Bean traces his own path to Skyway back to a mishap: while working for paint-protection company Ceramic Pro, a Skyway employee broke the shift linkage on a client's Lamborghini Diablo brought in for windshield film work, and Bean ended up making the apology call and getting a friend at a nearby Lamborghini dealership to fix it for the price of a six-pack. That relationship led to more work for the facility's owner and, eventually, an offer to leave Ceramic Pro and join Skyway outright, where Bean has since built out paint protection film and ceramic coating services as an add-on for both storage clients and walk-in members of the public.
A Cars and Coffee built from scratch in Palmetto
Bean also runs Skyway's own monthly Cars and Coffee, a spin-off of the long-running Porsche-hosted event that used to alternate with Sebring, after noticing Palmetto had no car-community gathering of its own. The event has grown to roughly 100 cars and at least 300 spectators, drawing everything from Nissan GT-Rs and lifted pickups to McLaren Sennas, a diversity Bean says he genuinely appreciates after growing numb to the hypercars that pass through Skyway's storage bays every day. The venue also hosts larger gatherings, including support for the new Big Top Dreams Foundation trade-scholarship nonprofit, comfortably accommodating up to 500 people among cars lifted on display throughout the air-conditioned showroom.
Launching a dealership inside an underused showroom
Bean says Skyway is now opening its own dealership after he pointed out to the company's CEO that a 28,000-square-foot showroom built to display the owner's personal collection was, in his words, a waste of floor space. Backed by a dealer's license the company already held for acquiring cars, and roughly 20 years of Bean's own experience selling at BMW, Mercedes and Lamborghini dealerships, the new operation received its certificate of occupancy about two weeks before this taping and will hold 35 to 40 vehicles, letting Skyway buy, sell and offer consignment and financing on cars, including for storage clients looking to sell.
Roundabouts, at speed
Asked about Sarasota's roundabouts from behind the wheel of his personally owned Porsche 911, Bean says he loves them empty, treating them like a personal racetrack, and admits to once circling one four times with his girlfriend in the passenger seat simply because the car handled the corner so well. He is more measured about Ferrari's recent styling choices, arguing the brand's newest models, unlike the classics that used to hang on kids' bedroom walls, have drifted toward what he bluntly calls ugly.
What you'll take away
- Skyway Motorspace offers climate-controlled storage for about 450 vehicles at $400 a month, including access to golf and racing simulators and a conference room
- General manager Will Bean joined the company after a client's Lamborghini Diablo was accidentally damaged during a windshield film job he was contracted for, leading to a job offer
- Bean built out Skyway's monthly Cars and Coffee event, which has grown to about 100 cars and 300-plus spectators in Palmetto
- Skyway is launching its own car dealership in a repurposed 28,000-square-foot showroom, backed by an existing dealer's license and Bean's prior experience at BMW, Mercedes and Lamborghini dealerships
- Bean personally loves driving Sarasota's roundabouts at speed in his Porsche 911 when they are empty
“You go to grab your Ferrari and it's sitting in a storage locker somewhere and it doesn't start, and the rats have chewed through your electronics.”
“That car, the new Ferrari, isn't going to be on someone's wall as a kid.”
Places mentioned: Palmetto, Longboat Key, UTC