2021 Vintage Car Museums Ranking

Many car owners consider themselves to be car connoisseurs. Indeed, they can talk with enthusiasm about the technical characteristics and features, advantages and disadvantages of all new products of recent years, but it is worth digging a little deeper, and their knowledge narrows down to the level of model names. And then - only fragmentary information, often incorrect or contradictory.

Meanwhile, the automotive industry has more than a century of history, and during this time the world has seen a huge number of both sensational and ingloriously sunk into oblivion, models that have not become massive for various reasons, but have their own charisma, reflecting the ambitions of their creators. Immersion in the history of the global automotive industry is an exciting experience in itself, and lovers of historical parallels will be able to get double satisfaction, because this story is closely intertwined with global trends.

We want to draw the attention of our readers to the most famous museums of vintage cars, which are worth visiting, even if the automotive theme is not in your first place. Believe me, contemplation of old cars is about the same as visiting the Tretyakov Gallery. You will be guaranteed aesthetic pleasure.

So, we begin our acquaintance with the most famous automobile museums in the world and in Russia.

National Automobile Museum, Mulhouse (France)

Many tourists prefer to travel to the outback to visiting world capitals - this way you can get to know the customs and traditions of the country closer and deeper. The small French town of Mulhouse with a population of 100 thousand, located in the east of the country, near the border with Germany and Switzerland, is quite worthy to get to know it better. Moreover, there are many interesting museums here, the most famous of which is the National Auto Museum. It is here that one of the largest collections of retro cars on a planetary scale is concentrated.

In particular, there are quite a lot of exhibits representing European automakers (over 500 brand names), including a complete collection of archived Bugatti models.

Most of the machines were assembled by two brothers-collectors from Switzerland - Fritz and Hans Schlumpf, who owned a weaving factory in Mulhouse. It is on its territory that the museum of retro cars is located, where you can admire rare copies from Ferrari and Mercedes, Maserati and Rolls-Royce.

City of the Automobile, in addition to a collection of vintage cars, can offer visitors an extensive cultural and entertainment program. And, of course, you will not leave the museum without purchasing a couple of souvenirs.

Malaga Museum

The south of Spain is very popular with tourists - there are excellent conditions for summer holidays. Malaga is the southernmost large city in the country, and it is here that one of the largest museums of retro cars in Europe is located. Despite its youth (the official opening of the museum took place in 2010), it is very popular with locals and visitors. Everything here amazes, starting with the museum building itself. It is huge, well-planned and beautifully decorated. Knowing the Spaniards' love of art, this should not be surprising. They treat cars in the same way, considering them an integral part of the culture of a particular historical era.

The halls with cars have names like "Golden 30s" or "Art Deco", and an ignorant person might suspect if he was mistakenly at an exhibition of art? But as soon as you smell the specific scent of leather, slightly diluted with the smell of gasoline, everything clears up, and you are completely immersed in contemplation of more than a hundred amazing exhibits collected by the Portuguese collector João Magalhaes. All vintage cars are kept in perfect condition, and you just want to sit in the driver's seat and experience the feelings that were inherent in the drivers of those times. The collection of the museum contains many rare models of Bugatti, Ferrari, Bentley, which have been thoroughly worked on by restorers and tuning studio masters. There is even a Rolls Royce, thoroughly decorated with Swarovski crystals, which is just right to be an exhibit of high art exhibitions.

British Heritage Motor Center

Conservative Britons love their cars, which are reluctant to follow the fickle car fashions. A prime example of this love is the Vintage Car Museum in Gaydon, a small town located in Warwickshire.

Visitors to the Heritage Motor Center can view over three hundred vehicles from a wide variety of eras. These exhibits are interesting in themselves, but among them there are real cinematic "stars" - cars that were filmed in cult films. For example, the Land-Rover Defender 110, featured in the cult blockbuster Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

The museum has a rich cultural program: numerous thematic exhibitions and educational lectures will brighten up the leisure of tired visitors of all ages.

The museum offers a unique service: the storage of vintage cars with only one condition: it must be displayed to the public. Isn't it a way to amuse your vanity?

Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology

There are also museums of old cars in Russia. One can even say that there are many of them, but in terms of the scope and number of exhibits, the Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology is an absolute leader. The word "technology" is present in the title for a reason, apart from rare cars from all over the world, there are motor vehicles, trucks, military vehicles, and even air transport. There are over a thousand exhibits in total, and this is one of the largest private collections in Europe. However, the museum can rightfully be positioned as a cultural project of the federal level.

And it all began not so long ago, in 2005, when the collection consisted of about a dozen units, and an open field served as an exhibition hall. Currently, the collection continues to be replenished with new exhibits, and the museum complex occupies three floors plus an open alley. The basement floor houses Soviet-era equipment, and the 1st floor houses a collection of the Western automobile industry, including very rare, truly rarity cars. Here, part of the exhibition hall is reserved for military equipment and weapons. The second floor housed motorcycles, overseas cars and cars that participated in different years in Formula 1.

The museum is located in the Krasnogorsk district of the Moscow region, in the village of Arkhangelskoe.

London Motor Museum

This automobile transport museum cannot be called an old-timer either - it was founded in 2001 and initially included 7 retro cars. As the collection was replenished, there were problems with the premises, as a result of which he changed location several times. Currently, the automobile museum is located in Hayes, but has retained its original name.

London Motor Museum is considered a unique place. The car collection includes rare and heavily tuned cars from all eras, including the hugely popular hot rods, lowriders, and muscle cars. Many come to see the famous cinematic cars - "Batmobile", "DeLorean" and others.

There are also rental cars in the garage of the museum.

Museo Nicolis

Italians are a nation of automobiles, so it should come as no surprise that the Nicolis Automobile Museum is considered one of the oldest in Europe. On the outskirts of Verona, Luciano Nicolis founded a collection that today occupies two floors out of four, and in terms of the number of exhibits it outshines many other similar museums.The collector reasonably judged that rare cars should not disappear into oblivion, and began collecting, to which he devoted his whole life. And today, visitors to the museum have the opportunity to enjoy the masterpieces of the world automobile industry, among which there are also unique examples - for example, the Lancia Astura 1000 Miglia, a car created for the racer Luigi Villoresi.

Complex "Autoville"

In Moscow, on the street. Usacheva 2, one of the most famous auto museums in Russia is located, the exposition of which covers an area of ​​more than 2000 square meters. The collection of retro cars is constantly growing, many cars are in perfect condition, periodically participating in specialized events.

In total, "Autoville" has over fifty exhibits, each of which is a reflection of the automotive fashion of its era, starting from 1905. The museum conducts guided tours and is open to personal visits.

Today we reviewed the best vintage car museums. Where would you like to visit?