The Cité de l’Automobile, Musée national de l’automobile, Collection Schlumpf is located in Mulhouse, France and houses the Schlumpf Collection of classic automobiles. It contains the largest and most comprehensive collection of Bugatti motor vehicles in the World.
Even if you are no great car fan, the collection of Fritz and Hans Schlumpf is definitely worth a visit at least once in a lifetime – its 437 cars can be considered as 20th-century works of art! Works by engineers and manufacturers with a real passion, these icons are a hymn to the beauty of shapes and engines, to power, energy, and speed, but also to unbridled imagination…
Cité de l’Automobile
Costing twice as much as a Rolls Royce and marketed at English Royalty, the Bugatti Type 41 “Royale” was the biggest, most powerful and most expensive car ever created during it’s 7 year production from 1927 – 1933. Powered by a 12.7-liter inline-8 producing 300bhp the engine alone was four and a half feet long by three and half feet high. These engine were so powerful that after the production of the cars finished the remaining engines went to the French government to power trains! Today the 6 remaining Bugatti Royales are estimated to be worth north of $20million each. Note the white motion sensors around each car protecting the museums precious investment.
Bugatti Type 41 – Coupe Napoleon
- The first car is chassis number 41.110
- Known as the Coupe Napoleon
- Hidden away from the Nazis during WWII at the Bugatti family home
Bugatti Type 41 Royale Coupe Napoleon
Bugatti Type 41 – Limousine Park-Ward
- The fourth car is chassis no.41.131
- Known as the Limousine Park-Ward
- Sold to Cuthbert Foster in 1933. Foster had a limousine body made for the car by Park Ward, created in the style of a 1921 Daimler he had once owned.
- Acquired in 1946 by British Bugatti dealer Jack Lemon Burton who was forced to replace the huge tyres with ones from an artilliery piece, neccesitating the need to remove the skirting from the fenders.
- Sold in 1956 to American Bugatti collector John Shakespeare, becoming part of the largest collection of Bugattis at that time.
- Facing financial problems, in 1963 Shakespeare sold his entire car collection to the Schlumpf brothers.
Bugatti Type 41 Park Ward
Dufaux was a Swiss car manufacturer established in 1904 by Charles Dufaux and Frédéric Dufaux. 12L straight 8 engine producing 80 bhp at 1300rpm on a chain drive and wooden wheels. What a beast!
1904 Dufaux
In 1907 Rolls Royce created a car to be used as a demonstrator by the company, nicknamed the “Silver Ghost” to emphasise its ghost-like quietness the aim was to raise public awareness of the new company and to show the reliability and quietness of their new car. This was a risky idea: cars of this time were notoriously unreliable, and roads of the day could be horrendous. Nevertheless, the car set off on trials and broke record upon record. Even after 11,000 km, the cost to service the car was a negligible £2.13. The reliability of the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost was proven and Rolls-Royce’s claim of making the “Best car in the world” – a phrase coined not by themselves, but by the prestigious publication Autocar in 1907 was established.
1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost
Hispano-Suiza was originally a Spanish luxury automotive and engineering firm best known for their cars, engines (including world famous aviation engines) and weapon designs in the pre-World War II period. This 1912 Hispano-Suiza Alfonso XIII gets its name from the King of Spain and was owned by Grandseignes, the first pilot to fly over Paris at night.
1912 Hispano Suiza Alphonse XIII.
The Bugatti Type 32 “Tank” was Ettore Bugatti’s first attempt to create an aerodynamic chassis. While extremely fast in a straight line the car handled poorly in the corners and was retired after one race.
Bugatti Type 32 Tank
The first thing you notice about the 1938 Paul Arzens La Baleine is the length, it is over 22 feet long. Paul Arzens was a painter who wanted a car that would hold all his painting equipment. Bob Ross would be proud.
1938 Paul Arzens La Baleine
With a top speed of 105 mph the 1930 Mercedes-Benz 38/250 SS was the fastest sports car in the world at the time. Designed by Ferdinand Porsche, the motor utilized a unique supercharger that provided short burst of power by forcing the air through the carburetors into the combustion chambers.
1930 Mercedes-Benz 38/250 SS
The 1976 Porsche 935 was introduced as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 Turbo. Featuring a flat bonnet, instead of the traditional Porsche upright headlamps, the 935 was fitted with an enormous turbo that cranked out over 800bhp.
1976 Porsche 935
René Metge, three-time winner of the Dakar Rally and icon of French motor sports won the 1986 Paris-Dakar rally in this Porsche 959.
1986 Porsche 959
Mercedes motorsport chief Rudolf Uhlenhaut had ordered two Mercedes 300 SLRs to be set aside and converted for road use. This Uhlenhaut Coupé was regarded as the world’s fastest car in the 1950s, and it is rumoured that, when running late for a meeting, Uhlenhaut exploited the unlimited autobahns to make today’s two-and-a-half-hour journey from Munich to Stuttgart in just over an hour.
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
Web: www.collection-schlumpf.com
Hours: 10:00 – 18:00
Admission: €10.50
July 23, 2009
Museums