VIRTUAL TOUR - 49 MUSEUMS EVERY CLASSIC CAR FAN SHOULD VISIT
Classic Sports Car 14 April 2020 by Chris Rowlands
1. Porsche Museum (Stuttgart, Germany)
Porsche opened its first museum in 1976, but it was a modest affair that housed just 20 cars – hardly fitting for one of the greatest names in sports cars.
Nowadays, the marque’s collection is housed in a dramatic €100m structure close to Porsche HQ. Exhibits spiral chronologically in a seamless white setting, with vehicles on raised platforms against the walls and all arranged so that you can get close, with no barriers.
All of the production cars are present, of course, plus competition cars – including an awesome set of 917s.
2. Atwell Wilson Motor Museum (Wiltshire, England)
Not all museums have to be massive, shiny spaces. This charming collection in Wiltshire, England grew out of the private collection of a pair of enthusiasts, Richard and Hasell Atwell.
It's been under the stewardship of a trust since the Atwells passed away, and has now been expanded, offering visitors a huge variety of motoring history – from American wagons to early Rollers – in an understated but welcoming setting.
You can even take a literal walk down Memory Lane, a part of the museum where two project Austins sit within a workshop setting.
Visit the Atwell Wilson Motor Museum website here Atwell Wilson
3. Blackhawk Automotive Museum (California, USA)
Nearby Los Angeles might be better known for its motoring heritage, but Danville, California is home to Blackhawk – which in turn is home to a host of the world’s rarest cars, dramatically presented in gleaming black halls.
Conceived by developer Ken Behring and dealer Don Williams, the 70,000ft² complex houses everything from DB4GT Zagatos to Dodge show cars – not to mention BAT 5, BAT 7 and BAT 9, the three sensational Bertone Alfa Romeo 1900s styled by Franco Scaglione.
Alfa’s official museum is a true treat for any fan of the iconic Italian marque.
Glossy but accessible exhibits span several floors, covering Alfa’s broad history – from its links with Italy’s greatest styling houses to the manufacturer’s glorious motorsport heritage – with a main exhibition that features more than 60 cars from a collection of 250.
Highlights include a sensational trio of Tipo 33 show cars and the iconic 1938 Le Mans 8C-2900B Speciale. There’s even a cinema to entertain younger visitors.
5. National Motor Museum, Beaulieu (Hampshire, England)
Established by Lord Montagu, this museum began life in 1952 as a five-car display, growing rapidly to become the National Motor Museum in 1972.
The diverse collection, nestled away in the New Forest, continues to expand, covering everything from an 1875 Grenville steam carriage to a Lotus E20 Formula 1 car from 2012.
It’s also home to a painstaking recreation of a 1930s country garage, as well as the Shell Heritage Art Collection – one of the most important hoards of commercial art in Britain.
Wijnland Auto Museum is famous for its rows of rusting wrecks that line the side of a national motorway.
Proprietor Les Boshoff, who supplies cars to the film industry, has devoted most of his life to saving classics from the scrapheap. The line-up varies from rusted hulks of such rarities as a 1953 Talbot-Lago and a 1935 De Soto Airflow – both of which narrowly avoided the crusher – to on-the-button gems stored under cover.
These include a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and a two-owners-from-new 1940 Buick.
Tucked away just off a side street in Frankfurt’s industrial suburbs, Klassikstadt is at the heart of the city’s classic scene.
Built as a farm machinery factory, it’s home today to more than 30 related businesses – from coach-trimmers to insurers – as well as the second-floor Boxengasse (or ‘pitlane’), where glass-fronted, climate-controlled car storage provides an ever-changing exhibit of exotic machinery.
As much a part of going to Le Mans as seeing headlights streaking through twilight at the Porsche Curves, a visit to the Musée des 24 Heures gives you a chance to witness the full history of this magnificent race in vehicular form.
Starting with the wonderfully understated Bentley 3 Litre that posted the fastest lap in the first event and won in 1924, there’s something here from every era of racing at La Sarthe – right up to an Audi R8 and a Bentley Speed 8 (though the Group C cars that precede those two will be a highlight for many).
9. Museo Lamborghini and Museo Ferruccio Lamborghini (Bologna, Italy)
There are two Lamborghini museums in Italy’s motor valley, within 30 minutes of one another – and together they make for an unforgettable experience.
The official one, run by parent company Audi, is a polished showroom with the latest models with a little history, while the family-run Museo Ferruccio Lamborghini is a more personal story of the man behind the legend.
Head to the former for your hypercar hit, before visiting the latter for a diverse and involving walk through history. If you’re lucky, you might get a tour from the great man’s nephew, Fabio.
Opened in 1982 after part of the Bentley estate was given to the people of East Sussex, the Bentley Motor Museum started out with a mere 25 cars gathered in an old cowshed.
Now it’s independently run, with some 50 cars on show – including a rare 1928 Minerva Type AK32, sporting coachwork by the Elkington Carriage Co of Chiswick.
It’s also a perfect stop on the popular run from London to Brighton.
If you imagine applying Audi’s ‘progress through technology’ philosophy to a building, the result will probably be pretty close to the Audi Museum Mobile.
Opened in 2000 as part of the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, four glass-wrapped storeys symbolise key eras, combining to make up the four rings of the Audi logo.
The first thing you notice as you enter at the lower level? The giant rotating lift on which more than a dozen cars are circulated over the full height of the building in silent and seemingly effortless transit.
12. Grampian Transport Museum (Aberdeenshire, Scotland)
Just getting to the Grampian Transport Museum (situated east of the Cairngorms National Park) is a bit of a hike – though the journey is part of the fun, given that it’s surrounded by superb, deserted roads.
Once you’re inside this compact museum you’ll find every inch dedicated to classic cars, so much so that some are stored above others on lifts. There’s even a short oval track, which plays host to an annual charity event.
Come for the architecture, stay for the cars: this site might be home to the impressive open-air ruins of an 11th-century abbey, but it’s surely the museum dedicated to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit that makes it worth a visit.
Tucked away in a vaulted basement, the motorsport collection is an eclectic gathering honouring Belgian marques and racers, including five-times Spa 24 Hours winner Eric van de Poele’s BMW E30 M3.
The best bit? The circuit itself is close at hand, so you can peruse its past before soaking up its present.
14. The Australian Motorlife Museum (New South Wales, Australia)
Tucked away in a rural setting near Wollongong – less than 2km from the motorway north to Sydney – is a neat grey building that’s home to one of the best car and automobilia collections in the Antipodes.
The Australian Motorlife Museum came about thanks to the efforts of a few dedicated volunteers, opening in 2008. Hundreds of enamel signs make evocative backdrops for cars as varied as a 1909 Ford Model T and a restored and running 1904 Innes built in Sydney.
Darren Cunningham inherited the collecting bug from his father and created this purpose-built 75,000ft² museum to bring the family’s 100-strong cache of classics under one roof.
Unlike almost any other museum, it has no ropes or ‘do not touch’ signs – and it favours preservation over restoration. It also happens to be huge and diverse, housing everything from a right-hand drive De Lorean to a GM Greyhound Scenicruiser coach that Cunningham Jnr drove on one of his many road trips in the USA.
Most teenagers have cars on their bedroom walls; few get to own them. For Imtiaz Shaikh, he not only got the E-type from his poster, but went on to open a gallery in which to display it.
With royal approval, Tomini Classics now showcases a rotating stock of classics from his own collection (with many more locked away in a vault, viewed by special arrangement).
In public view you’ll find the likes of a restored 1976 Lamborghini Countach, a ‘61 E-type and an ‘85 Ferrari 288GTO in his Dubai showcase.
17. Williams Grand Prix Collection (Oxfordshire, England)
Housed in the Williams Formula One team’s conference centre, the Grand Prix Collection is home to a priceless archive of racing machinery.
The team owns at least one of every model it has ever made, from unraced test vehicles to championship-winning F1 cars – making this a dream for fans of the British marque and Formula One alike.
On display, you’ll find cars piloted by the sport’s biggest names (think Piquet, Mansell and Hill), as well as several other projects – such as the BMW prototype that won at Le Mans in ‘99.
18. Musée de l’Automobile de Valençay (Loire Valley, France)
Valençay is best known for its fine Renaissance château, but the nearby Musée de l’Automobile has some Gallic treasures of its own.
Established in 1964 in nearby Vatan, the facility moved to Valençay in 1981 and to its present site, an airy former supermarket, 20 years later.
Not surprisingly, homegrown marques dominate, with some 60 cars on permanent display – including an impressive array of vehicles from the early years of motoring, of which nearly all are in running order.
The British Motor Museum – formerly the Heritage Motor Centre – is home to the world’s largest collection of British historic vehicles.
There is a Collections Centre, too, where visitors can get a behind-the-scenes look at the museum’s reserve collections (which would otherwise be stored out of public view), including rare machines from the Jaguar Heritage Trust. Book on a tour with a museum volunteer and enjoy.
Zylinderhaus in Germany opened to the public in October 2017.
Built from scratch on the picturesque banks of the Moselle river, the stylish 5000m² facility – an homage to the industrial red-brick buildings of the ‘50s – houses some 100 cars and hundreds of period exhibits.
Displayed in a well-organised layout over three storeys, the focus is on old and defunct German marques – such as Glas, Hansa and Auto Union. One of the rarest cars is an elegant Audi 225 Front Luxus cabriolet by Gläser, one of just six that survive today.
Whether Enzo Ferrari would approve of the giant, yellow construction built adjacent to his former home in Modena isn’t clear, but its contents are certainly a fitting tribute to the automotive legend.
Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari (comprised of both the house in which he grew up and the facility next door) is home to a very personal history of the marque and its founder, together with a massive variety of cars – from early Alfa Romeo racers and the Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 Enzo himself built, to priceless Fiats, De Tomasos, Maseratis and, of course, Ferraris.
Nothing prepares you for the scale of the Nissan Heritage collection.
When the doors swing open to the former production facility in Zama, the array of vehicles is mind-blowing: from a dinky ’47 Tama Electric car to fearsome sports-racers. Better yet, more than 70% of the 400-plus cars are in working order and regularly go to events.
The building is also something of a shrine for Z-car fans, showcasing famous rally veterans and a long-serving 240Z-G that clocked up 370,000km with the Kanagawa Highway Patrol.
Visit the Nissan Heritage Car Garage website here Nissan Heritage
23. Petersen Automotive Museum (California, USA)
LA’s Petersen Automotive Collective sports a stunning steel exterior of waves and curves – and some equally stunning machinery inside.
Presented in a gallery style, highlights include a number of Bugattis – headed by one of the world’s most valuable cars, the 1936 Type 57SC Atlantic – as well as a 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahnkurier and the ‘Embiricos’ Bentley.
Other exhibits celebrate hot rods – in honour of founder Robert Petersen – concept cars, alternative power, Italian design and bikes.
Plus, the museum is running virtual tours and more during the coronavirus lockdown.
24. Conservatoire de la Monoplace Française (Magny-Cours, France)
Magny-Cours might no longer host the French Grand Prix, but its place in France’s motorsport heritage is well-established.
With 18 Grands Prix taking place at the track between 1991 and 2008, it’s a fitting location for a unique collection of 48 single-seater racing cars – from mid-century machines right up to ‘90s racers.
French-built cars are presented together in the Conservatoire, with the main exhibition covering various manufacturers – from Renault to Matra – in atmospheric and captivating displays.
Where better to celebrate Italy’s greatest motor race than an 11th-century Benedictine monastery? Granted permission by the Brescia authorities in 1997, Museo Mille Miglia exists as a permanent tribute to the storied event.
Beginning with the founding fathers of the fabled road race, Museo Mille Miglia charts its history by leading visitors along a winding red road – from a supercharged six-cylinder 665 S Corsa, past early Ferraris and Lancia Aurelias, to rare Fiats and even the odd British machine, with plenty to see along the way.
26. Aston Martin Heritage Trust (Oxfordshire, England)
A 15th-century tithe barn built by monks is worth a visit alone, but the historic Oxfordshire home of the Aston Martin Heritage Trust is a must for marque fans.
The trust owns six cars, from the prototype A3 to a mighty ’89 AMR1 prototype, while collectors often loan their cars to be exhibited.
Around the barn, glass cabinets are packed with artefacts, ranging from pre-war Rudge Whitworth Le Mans awards to a pair of historic chequered flags from the glorious 1959 season, including the famous Nürburgring 1000kms win.
Built in 1880 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence, Brussels’ Cinquantenaire Park Palace hosted the Salon de l’Automobile for decades before its exhibition hall became a museum in 1985.
Some 200 vehicles from collector Ghislain Mahy’s 950-strong hoard fill the imposing Southern Hall, with a chronological walk through 100-plus years of automotive history forming the main exhibit.
Details on the cars are limited, but the variety of vehicles, the refreshing layout and spectacular vaulted setting make it a must if you’re passing through.
28. Cité de l’Automobile Musée National (Alsace, France)
The automotive hoard of the eccentric, Italian-born Schlumpf brothers makes for one of the world’s most incredible car museums.
Featuring more than 400 vehicles – including 150 Bugattis – this collection came to light, incredibly, during strikes in 1976 when aggrieved workers broke down the doors.
Built as a tribute to the Schlumpf brothers' mother Jeanne – and illuminated by hundreds of replica Art Nouveau lamps as a bizarre family shrine – the stash was classified as a French National Monument in 1978, and opened to the public in ‘82.
While much of the legendary banked circuit was long ago lost to redevelopment, few venues enjoy the sort of atmosphere that you find at the Brooklands Museum.
It’s centred around the famous Clubhouse, inside which you can soak up the ambience in the Billiards Room and the Clerk of the Course’s office, with the majority of the cars housed in the old tuning sheds.
Alongside a huge amount of automobilia – from the track’s original timing gear to medals and helmets – you’ll find several record-setting and remarkable machines.
30. Conservatoire National de Véhicules Historiques (Diekirch, Luxembourg)
In 1997 a group of enthusiasts, concerned about the preservation of their automotive heritage, founded an association in Gutland, southern Luxembourg to conserve local historic vehicles.
Today, the rebuilt Wagner factory – where Mercedes-Benz models were assembled during the 1920s – is the perfect period shelter to house an eclectic early-century collection.
Visitors can admire a constantly changing selection of vehicles borrowed from private collectors, so every visit should present something new.
Since the museum opened in April 2004, the building has been declared a historic monument to assure its longevity.
31. L’Espace Automobiles Matra (Center-Val de Loire, France)
Cars bearing the Matra name were in production for less than 20 years, yet the automotive branch of the armaments firm was much more than a maker of mid-engined road cars: it built title-winning F1 single-seaters and sports-racers that triumphed at Le Mans, as well as launching both the ‘soft-roader’ SUV and ‘people carrier’ MPV concepts.
It’s a rich and honourable history, and one celebrated in its entirety at L’Espace Automobiles Matra.
Not necessarily the most accessible of British car museums, Caister Motor Museum is worth the trip for the sheer diversity of machinery on show.
Inspired by Lord Montagu’s famous museum, Dr Peter Hill bought Caister Castle in 1966 and the museum was born. Expansion over the years means it now houses more than 150 cars, bikes, scooters and other vehicles.
The clear star is an ex-Jim Clark Lotus, though you’ll find everything from the sole surviving 1936 Singer Airstream saloon to the first Ford Fiesta ever built.
33. Southward Car Museum (Kapiti Coast, New Zealand)
The collection assembled by the late Sir Len Southward began with an unrestored Ford Model T that he bought in the mid-1950s, and now has something for everyone.
Cars are housed in a large, purpose-made building, alongside an on-site workshop, a theatre with a Mighty Wurlitzer organ and spacious grounds that are regularly used for club events.
American cars from the 1930s abound, including the 1948 Daimler landaulette that was used by the King and Queen of Thailand in the early ’60s during their New Zealand tour.
An established racer, Bruce Canepa’s California museum is a must-visit if you’re en-route to San Francisco.
Opened in 2007, the facility features an eclectic group of racers – from a So-Cal ’34 Coupe Bonneville record holder to a 1150bhp twin-turbo Porsche 917/30 Interserie monster, to a six-wheeled Tyrrell P34.
The museum is a boon for Steve McQueen fans, too: not only does it feature one of the most famous Gulf-liveried Porsche 917s – chassis 015 – but also the King of Cool’s own Formula Junior Cooper T56.
35. LeMay – America’s Car Museum (Washington, USA)
Just out of high school at the outbreak of WW2, Harold LeMay started a bus route to transport men to Tacoma shipyards. Near the end of hostilities, he switched from hauling workers to hauling refuse.
This proved a lucrative enterprise and LeMay was able to indulge his passion for all things automotive, eventually amassing in excess of 3000 vehicles, plus a vast automobilia haul, earning him a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records as the holder of the world’s largest private collection of automobiles – which is now on display at America’s Car Museum.
Wouldn’t it be great if a car-loving property developer converted an empty warehouse into a classic centre, with storage, specialists, dealers and styling studios all under one roof?
In 1998, Martin Halder had just such a dream at business school and, in 2003, when he found a huge vacant historic transport building in west Berlin, the inspired concept became a reality.
A 12,000m² red-brick space dominated by double-decker glass storage that runs its length, the facility is open to the public – making it, in essence, a vast, free museum for car nuts.
37. Coventry Transport Museum (West Midlands, England)
Coventry Transport Museum’s collection may date back to the ’30s, when Cyril Scott had the foresight to acquire cars and ’bikes for the local Herbert Art Gallery, but forward-looking curatorship has given this city-centre attraction dynamic, modern appeal.
Walk around the labyrinth of chronologically themed areas, from the Edwardian era to the tragic demise of local manufacturing, and you’ll find this showcase vividly revives local motoring history.
Mercedes-Benz has a long tradition of preserving its amazing heritage, which is showcased in a remarkable museum designed by Dutch architect UNStudio.
Opened in 2006, it remains one of the world’s finest single-marque displays. The dramatic array of 160 vehicles is selected from a collection of more than 1000 that ranges from an 1886 Benz to Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 championship-winning McLaren MP4-23, themed around a double-helix interior with a clever series of linked walkways.
South Australia is the home of the Holden, so it’s a fitting place for the National Motor Museum.
Set in the pretty Adelaide hills, the collection began as a private concern, but the Australian government took over in 1976 and turned the facility into a proper tourist attraction.
Today, expanded, upgraded and supported by several manufacturers, it’s a who’s who of Aussie motoring: a 1908 Talbot, the first car to run south to north over Australia, is on display, as are several Holden and Mitsubishi prototypes, alongside a litter of Holdens, Fords, Chryslers and Leylands.
Mike Malamut was spannering before he was old enough to drive, earning pocket money repairing neighbours’ cars in his native Los Angeles before getting his first job as a Volkswagen mechanic.
His love of the German marque is reflected in a line-up of 16 rare Beetles and Microbuses, as well as 11 Porsches, in a private collection – available for owners’ clubs and individuals to view by prior arrangement – made up of some 130 vehicles of all shapes and sizes.
This one-marque collection reflects the French firm’s 200-plus years of history, with each section representing a particular period of Peugeot’s heritage and decorated by superb mosaic floors, Art Nouveau architectural detailing and large black-and-white motoring photographs on the walls.
At the back of the museum is an excellent motorsport gallery, featuring the likes of Mika Häkkinen’s ’94 McLaren-Peugeot and the Le Mans-winning 905 Evo B and 908 HDi.
42. Museo Automovilístico Málaga (Andalusia, Spain)
Opened in 2010, Málaga’s car museum lives in a converted tobacco factory close to the seafront.
Housing a collection of 95 cars – superbly varied vehicles, ranging from a spartan Czech Velorex two-stroke microcar to a wonderful supercharged Mercedes-Benz 500K – they all come from one Portuguese enthusiast with diverse tastes.
Every corner turned in this place presents a surprise, be it a rare car or bizarre automotive-inspired artwork.
43. Haynes International Motor Museum (Somerset, England)
Situated in a bold and stylish building, Haynes International Motor Museum is home to the UK’s largest collection of cars from around the world – with more than 400 exhibits.
Several exhibition areas draw you through the halls, including one dedicated to Mini and another to supercars.
An eclectic mix of machinery rounds things off – from tiny Morgans and Fiats, to mighty Mercedes and a WW1 armoured car.
Until his retirement, Dr Frederick Simeone was one of the world’s foremost neurosurgeons. More importantly, he was always a lifelong car enthusiast.
After many years in private storage, his remarkable cache of 60 highly original sports cars is now open to the public. Housed in a tastefully converted warehouse within earshot of Philadelphia’s International airport, the cars are displayed on themed sets celebrating the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Bonneville, Sebring and Le Mans.
Simeone has forthright views on conservation, too, which is clear from the exquisite patina of his cars.
Arguably the world’s most beautiful automotive museum, the Louwman sits opposite The Hague’s royal palace and covers the entire history of the automobile – from the earliest horse-drawn carriages to the Toyota Prius.
Tear yourself away from the magnificence of the arched timber roof in the Great Hall and you’ll find a vast collection of cars creatively presented, with vehicles matched to period backdrops. There’s everything from movie cars to rare Rolls-Royces, and, of course, Spykers.
No Argentinian motoring display would be complete without an exhibit honouring Juan Manuel Fangio – and Luis Horacio Spadafora’s collection is no exception: here a ’39 Chevrolet Coupe lines up with two single-seater specials.
Upstaging the Fangio exhibits, though, is a packed corner dedicated to Oscar Gálvez, while the museum also plays home to a barn-find display of pre-war models, Argentinian-built cars and a ‘37 Dodge used by President Roosevelt for a state visit – all presented wonderfully.
47. Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile di Torino (Turin, Italy)
Housed in a striking, Amedeo Albertini-designed building, Turin’s automobile museum is home to some 200 vehicles and, thanks to a recent refurbishment, its displays make for a dazzling experience.
From the dawn of motoring to the production of the current Fiat 500, the exhibition unravels automotive history along a labyrinth of dark walkways and themed rooms.
The most remarkable is ‘Formula’, an evolutionary grid of single-seaters enhanced by a massive video backdrop showing jets of flame, rev-counters, lights and animated Eadweard Muybridge figures.
48. Musée Automobile de Lorraine (Grand Est, France)
In 1969, an enthusiastic group from L’Association Lorraine des Amateurs d’Automobiles de Collection (ALAAC), persuaded the authorities to give permission for its members to house their vehicles in a former American WW2 base near Nancy.
From 1970, the museum was opened to the public and, today, visitors to the French region of Lorraine can admire an array of highly original racing Porsches, together with a selection of national glories.
Bugatti might be a French marque, but England has long enjoyed close connections with Ettore’s storied brand – so it’s fitting that a special centre be based there.
Launched in 1987, the Bugatti Trust was only able to fund its facility through the sale of founder Hugh Conway’s car collection after his death. It now houses Conway’s remarkable photographs, factory drawings, letters and research – together with a wealth of Bugatti-related material.
The cars on show are regularly changed, though permanent open-wheeler highlights include Bruce Spollon’s 1928 T37.
