Our Team
Principal, Automotive Historian, Appraiser, Consultant & Writer
20 Years
of professional experience
ASA-Accredited Appraiser
U.S. & Europe
Services the U.S. and Europe
USPAP
USPAP Compliant
Among many things, Donald Osborne is a classic car historian, author, consultant and writer. An Accredited Senior Appraiser (A.S.A.) member of the American Society of Appraisers, he has worked for clients across the world on the acquisition, sale and valuation of classic vehicles, travelling the US and Europe attending major events, rallies and auctions. In 2019, Donald began leading Audrain’s Newport Concours d’Elegance as Chairman, and soon thereafter was appointed as the parent company’s Chief Executive Officer. Today, Donald leads all non-profit and for-profit initiatives, overseeing the Audrain Automobile Museum, a 501(c)(3), Audrain’s Newport Concours d’Elegance & Motor Week and Audrain Motorsport. In addition to his role as CEO, he maintains previously-existing projects for clients of his own consulting company, Automotive Valuation Services. A public figure in the international classic car community, he has served as grand marshall, judge and emcee at many leading automotive events, including the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, Kyoto Concorso d’Eleganza, Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue, Santa Fe Concorso, Concours of America at St. John’s, Forest Grove Concours and Sculpture in Motion at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in Palm Beach, to name a few.
A professional host and entertainer known to many classic car lovers around the world, Donald filmed seven seasons of ‘Jay Leno’s Garage’ on CNBC Primetime, for which he co-hosted his own segments ‘Assess & Caress with Donald Osborne’ and ‘Behind the Bowtie.’ Millions of viewers tuned in weekly for years, and now many of those fans continue following Donald’s adventures through the Audrain Museum Network on Youtube where they see Donald and Jay Leno featured in their original content series called “Audrain Mansions and Motorcars.” Donald and his team actively produce this popular, dynamic and educational show alongside other high-quality videos in support and promotion of the activities at the Audrain Group. Prior to these projects, he co-hosted two seasons of the nationally broadcast television show ‘What’s My Car Worth’ on Discovery’s ‘Velocity’ network.
Author of the book ‘Stile Transatlantico / Transatlantic Style- A Romance of Fins and Chrome’, Donald’s writing on classic cars has been published in The New York Times, BusinessWeek Online, the Wall Street Journal, Art & Antiques, Octane, Magneto, Sports Car Market, Palm Springs Life and Road & Track, among others. He was nominated as a Dean Batchelor Award finalist author for Motor Press Guild’s 2017 Book of the Year for ‘Stile Transatlantico.’
Donald has curated and co-curated many museum exhibitions to date, especially due to role of overseeing the Audrain Automobile Museum. Some of Donald’s exhibitions include ‘Ferrari and Futurists- An Italian Look at Speed’ at Heather James Fine Art in Palm Desert, CA, ‘Transatlantic Style, A Romance of Fins and Chrome,’ inspired by his book called ‘Stile Transatlantico,’ at the Blackhawk Museums in Danville, CA and ‘Styling the Future: A History of GM Design & Concept Cars’ at the Audrain Automobile Museum, the latter of which he co-curated alongside Curator David de Muzio.
Based in Newport, Rhode Island with his team at Audrain, LLC, he is an avid enthusiast and active participant of all things related to art, music, architecture, culture and food, travelling frequently to both California and Italy, his second homes.
Consultant & Associate
9 Years
of appraisal experience
AM-Accredited Member
U.S. & Europe
Services the U.S. and Europe
USPAP
USPAP Compliant
An Accredited Member (AM) of the American Society of Appraisers, Scott has worked with Donald in his appraisal practice since 2015 channeling his years of experience as an automotive professional and collector into his valuation work. Scott also works as a consultant with clients assisting with planning, building and maturing their collections.
Automobiles have played a role in Scott King’s life from a very young age. Between his grandfather’s Cadillacs and the 1965 Mustang pedal car he received for Christmas at age 3, he seemed destined for a life that revolved around cars.
Scott purchased his first car, 1972 Honda N600 at the age of 15—before he was licensed to drive—and which he still owns today. That car and those series of others that followed set the tone for what would be a fascinating life personally and professionally in the automotive world.
From working as an intern at a Porsche-Audi dealer and Honda service department during college, Scott began what would be a 13-year career with American Honda Motor Company. Rising through the service, parts and sales departments, he joined Product Planning where he was involved in the development and launch of several new Honda models.
In 2002, Scott transitioned to the advertising world as Product Information Manager for Acura with Rubin Postaer & Associates, the national advertising agency for Honda and Acura automobiles. The go-to guy for everyone at the agency as well as Honda HQ, he became a walking encyclopedia of everything that was Acura and Honda with his vast experience and product knowledge.
Cars also played a big role in Scott’s personal life, building an eclectic automobile collection including an array of iconic American cars from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s alongside beautiful Italians, a German or two and of course Japanese models that range from Honda earliest and most rare sports cars to the legendary NSX.
Collecting has allowed Scott to experience an amazing cross-section of the automobile’s history and meet fascinating like-minded enthusiasts, at car shows, cruise-in’s, concours, automobile auctions and driving events. He’s passionate about preservation and authenticity and has a keen eye for detail.