As the Automobile Museums web site is currently in French, articles in English related to the May 2022 Newsletter have been grouped on this page.
Iconic Mechanics
Exhibition at the National Automobile Museum, Mulhouse – France – April 29 to November 6, 2022
Opened in 1982, the Musée National de l’Automobile – Collection Schlumpf celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2022. On this occasion, the Museum is organizing the “Iconiques Mécaniques” exhibition which will present to the public never displayed vehicles from its reserves. The exhibition will also highlight collection and restoration of automobiles.
For this purpose, the temporary exhibition space has been enlarged from 1000 to 1300m², and another space of 1000m² within the museum is also dedicated to the exhibition. A specific tour in 3 steps has been set up, allowing the visitor to discover these cars, but also other collection objects and restoration techniques.
As an introduction to the visit, two exceptional, but very opposite pieces are presented: on the one hand, a Hotchkiss chassis from 1923 in very poor condition, associated with a virtual reality application, and on the other hand a copy of a Bugatti Royale started during the Schlumpf era and finished in the 1990s by the Museum’s restoration services.
The first part of the tour presents the objects collected by Fritz Schlumpf and the process of creating the collection. The second part of the tour is devoted to the cars that have been taken out of storage and presented on 3 themes: the pioneer brands with mainly cars from the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th century, from brands that were famous in their time but have practically all disappeared (Darracq, Lorraine-Dietrich, Rochet-Schneider, Panhard & Levassor or Clément Bayard), the great luxury sedans that are emblematic of their countries: Delahaye (France), Isotta Fraschini (Italy), Rolls-Royce (England), Hispano-Suiza (Spain), Mercedes-Benz (Germany), and at the other end of the automotive spectrum the popular cars that democratized the use of the car (Citroën, Fiat, Renault or Volkswagen). Finally, the third part of the visit allows you to discover the evolution of the place, initially a spinning factory, then a showcase for the collections before being transformed into a museum and then a real place of cultural life.
The visit of the exhibition Iconiques Mécaniques is included in the price of the entrance ticket to the National Automobile Museum.
One, Two, Three, Four… Cars and Rock&Roll
Exhibition at Autoworld Brussels – Belgium – April 1 – June 26, 2022
The Autoworld museum in Brussels is inspired by the book “Garage Rock” by Pieter Rijckaert to propose the exhibition One, two, three, four… CARS and ROCK&ROLL.
Cars and rock’n’roll music are linked in many ways. Same symbols of freedom, many songs referring to it more than in any other musical genre, pictures on the record sleeves without forgetting the passion of many rockers for the car…
The exhibition CARS and ROCK&ROLL which traces the close links is composed of 2 parts
On the one hand, a path that links about twenty cars of the museum that played a role in the history of rock. In front of each of them, a panel displays information and a QR code allowing visitors to listen to the music associated with the car
On the other hand, on the podiums dedicated to temporary exhibitions, a dozen iconic cars that have a relationship with Rock & Roll, for example a pink Cadillac, an Oldsmobile Rocket 88, a BMW 507, a Lamborghini Miura, a De Tomaso Pantera …
Throughout the exhibition, discover a varied and eclectic history of rock, from the first rockers to more recent artists such as Oasis or Chris Rea through the Beach Boys or Kraftwerk.
Hot Wheels™: Race to Win™ at the National Corvette Museum
Exhibition at the National Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA – May 27 – September 25, 2022
In cooperation with the famous model car brand Hot Wheels™, the National Corvette Museum is offering Hot Wheels™: Race to Win™, a family-friendly exhibit with several attractions around the brand and auto racing. Visitors will be able to build and test fast and safe machines, compete in Hot Wheels races on a 6-lane track, or practice a Pit Stop. Numerous objects and real race car parts will complete this immersive experience in the world of car racing.
Exhibition and animations of the Maurice Dufresne Museum (Azay le Rideau – France)
As every year, the Maurice Dufresne Museum proposes many animations on weekends, and a temporary exhibition during its opening period.
Lunch, Live music and treasure hunt for Mother’s Day
Sunday, May 29, starting at 12 noon
The Maurice Dufresne Museum celebrates Mother’s Day in a good mood and conviviality, with a lunch on the terrace, an aperitif offered to mothers, musical entertainment from 1 to 3 pm, and from 3 pm, a treasure hunt for children, without forgetting outdoor games for all: pétanque, chamboule-tout, croquet, Molkky, mini-football, target, badminton, ring toss…
The animations are accessible in the price of the entrance ticket, reservation recommended for the lunch (in addition to the entrance ticket).
Exhibition ” Touraine in arms (1870/71) “
From April 2nd to October 30th, 2022
This temporary exhibition is based on the Museum’s important collection of weapons on the theme of the 1870/71 war and presents nearly thirty weapons of various origins (American, French, Prussian, English and even Papal), used during this war.
The exhibition also offers you the opportunity to follow the path of the francs-tireurs of Tours in this war as well as the defenders of Touraine during the invasion. The opportunity to discover a new representation of the uniform of the 5th Company of francs-tireurs of Tours. A story built from archive documents and specialized books.