Visited in 2011
The Henri Malartre museum opened 1960 in a castle in Rochetaillée near the city of Lyon. The collection is primarily focussed on French marques, and in particular those produced in this general region. The castle building houses a large number of vintage and veteran cars, the rest of extensive collection can be found in a newer building in the castle grounds.
Address
645 rue du Musée
69270 Rochetaillée-sur-Saône
France
Visited in 2012
The Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena opened to the public on March 10, 2012. The museum was built on the site of the old house where Enzo Ferrari was born in 1898 which still has the original dwelling part intact as well as the mechanical workshop (where his father Alfredo worked), opposite which there is a new (in 2012) futuristic looking gallery: shaped like a car bonnet in yellow, the colour of the town of Modena, the colour chosen by Enzo Ferrari as the background for the Prancing Horse, the Ferrari logo. The museum is currently managed by Ferrari spa.
The exhibits are not static – every six months or so there is a different theme – check the website before you visit. The photos shown here are of the cars on display in July 2012. As you can see, not all cars are Ferraris!
Address:
Via Paolo Ferrari 85
41121 Modena
Italy
Website: www.ferrari.com/en-EN/museums/enzo-ferrari-modena
Visited in 2017
The British Motor Museum claims to be home to ‘the world’s largest collection of historic British cars’. The Midlands has always been the centre of car manufacturing in the United Kingdom and it still is, although there are fewer companies active than in say, the nineteen fifties. The museum tells the story of the birth, decline and rebirth of the motor industry and the cars it produced. It is arranged by major theme, such as motoring history time road, design and concept cars, sport cars, movie cars etc.
Address:
Banbury Road,
Gaydon,
Warwickshire CV35 0BJ
England
Website: britishmotormuseum.co.uk
Visited in 2017
Coventry Transport Museum collection includes around 250 cars, commercial vehicles and buses, 100 motorcycles and over 350 bicycles. It focuses on Coventry’s role in British transport heritage.
Shown here is a sample of the numerous makes that were built in and around Coventry.
Address:
Millennium Place,
Hales Street,
Coventry CV1 1JD,
England
Website: transport-museum.com
Visited in 2018
Located in Hamburg city centre, the Protoyp Museum is housed in a historic factory building. The collection consists mainly of Porsche and VW passenger and sports cars. One of the highlights is the ‘Ur Porsche’ Type 63 built in 1939.
The racing car section also contains the Jordan 191 F1 (1991), the car in which Michael Schumacher started his Formula 1 career.
In the basement there is an art gallery and a lounge area with an exhibition devoted to the famous German racing driver Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips.
Please check the website before planning a visit.
Address:
Shanghaiallee 7,
20457 Hamburg,
Germany
Website: prototyp-hamburg.de
Visited in 2016
Also known as MAUTO, the National Automobile Museum is one of the major car museums in Europe. It was founded in 1932 and now has over 200 historically interesting automobiles on display in a purpose-built modern building in Turin.
A clever audiovisual display illustrates the end of the ‘Horse and Carriage’ and the beginning of the ‘Horseless Carriage’ at the end of the 19th Century.
One of the most beautiful automotive creations, the Cisitalia, with a fitting backdrop.
Diatto (1905-1927) was built in Turin.
Evidence of the wide variety of cars on display, is this French Bédélia cyclecar. Designed around parts of an old wrecked motorcycle, simplicity itself.
Turin is famous for being the home of so many coachbuilding firms. All the famous names were established here: Ghia, Bertone, Frua, Boano, and all at close proximity to one another.
Interesting dioramas can be seen by looking through holes in a fence in part of the museum.
Address:
Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile
“Avv. Giovanni Agnelli”
Corso Unità d’Italia 40
10126 Torino, Italy
Website: museoauto.it
Visited in 2013
Brooklands is the birthplace of British motorsport and aviation. It was the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit. The cars in the museum all raced in period at Brooklands. In addition to the museum, there is the famous Test Hill to see, the remaining sections of the original Brooklands track and the aviation museum.
Check the Brooklands Museum website for opening times and other details.
Address:
Brooklands Museum,
Brooklands Road,
Weybridge,
Surrey,
England
Website: brooklandsmuseum.com
Visited in 2019
This is the private collection, assembled over the course of many years, of car enthusiast and businessman, Dr.-Ing. Hans-Jochem Steim. It is located in the heart of the Black Forest (Schwartzwald) in Schramberg. The museum contains about 130 cars from the turn of the century to more recent times.
The museum works together with the other museums in Schramberg, including the Auto und Uhrenwelt, reviewed here.
Address:
Autosammlung Steim
Göttelbachstrasse 49
78713 Schramberg
Germany
Website: autosammlung-steim.de
Visited in 2018
Bicester Heritage is NOT a museum as such. It is a business campus dedicated to historic motoring, based at the former RAF Bicester airforce base. It is home to numerous classic car specialists and is open ‘by appointment only’. Please check the website for opening hours and visitor policy, and if necessary make an appointment. However, Bicester Heritage, and the companies located there, organise classic car events throughout the year, so it is worth checking what’s on and when.
Address:
Bicester Heritage,
Buckingham Road,
Bicester,
Oxfordshire OX27 8AL
Website: bicesterheritage.co.uk
Visited in 2019
Maurice Dufresne has put together a museum devoted to France’s industrial heritage, covering a wide variety of artefacts, machines and vehicles. It is housed in a former 17th century water mill on the river Loire.
Address:
17 Route de Marnay, 37 190 Azay-le-Rideau, France
www.musee-dufresne.com