Story by Graham Gauld
Photos by Graham Gauld unless otherwise noted
For me a visit to any motor museum not only exposes to you cars and models you have heard about but never seen in the metal, so to speak, but demonstrates the sheer variety of marques the world has produced in the 130 year history of the automobile.
Recently I took a short trip to Malaga in the south of Spain.
I had never been there before and was curious, for about forty years ago I had planned to write a biography of the Spanish nobleman and racing driver the Marquis de Portago. I was intrigued by the six or seven aristocratic titles he held, that included one linked to the Italian Borgias, but his first title, Cabeza de Vaca, ( Skull of a Cow) had been given to his multi-great grandfather who had helped the King of Spain remove the Muslim Moors from the South of Spain and back into North Africa in the 16th century.
Back to the museum, history lesson over!
The 1949 Allard M type
It is very rare to come across one of the very early Allard Ford V8 engined sports cars like this M type that went into production in 1947.
Around 500 were built and it was away ahead in styling for that immediate post-war period, as opposed to Sydney Allard’s brutal J2 which was intended for racing, rallies and hill climbs and powered by a Cadillac V8. An Allard and US driver Tom Cole finished 3rd at the 1950 le Mans 24 Hour race, the marque’s first entry in the event.
1910 Charron Model X
I must admit I had never heard of the Charron, a company originally called C.G.V., launched in Paris in 1901 by three drivers who had raced Panhards.
The leading light was Fernand Charron who, in 1900, won the very first major international motor race in Europe, the Gordon Bennett Trophy, driving a Panhard. His partner in the business was Leonce Giradot, who finished second in the same race also in a Panhard, and the final partner was Voigt who was the US importer of their C.G.V. cars that were later renamed Charrons.
This particular model, finished in egg-shell blue, was something special as it was owned by the Brazilian aeronaut and sportsman Alberto Santos Dumont whose money came from the coffee trade where he was known as the King of Coffee. He used his Charron to tow his various aeroplanes out on to the runways and to run around Paris with his many lady friends.
1923 Minerva Sedan
I have always had an interest in the Belgian Minerva cars for the simple reason that my former father-in-law owned the dealership for their luxury cars in Scotland in the 1920s. In turn, his father managed to persuade Glasgow’s local council to rename the street in which he had his dealership to Minerva Street, which was something of a PR coup in those days.
The Minerva company started out as bicycle makers in Antwerp owned by Silvain de Jong, which supplied motor cycle engines to many companies in those early days. Once in the car business they went for the luxury market in which they were successful.
They made their own bodies and his 1923 model was powered by a 2.4 liter straight six on a 12 foot wheelbase and with four wheel brakes! The Malaga museum also has a 1904 650cc Minervette, their original small car.
1930 Renault Nervastella
One could say that the timing of Renault’s launch of their first big car, the 7.1 liter straight eight Reinastella, was inopportune in view of the 1929 Wall Street crash, but they quickly produced a model with a smaller 4.2 liter V8 and a much lower price called the Nervastella.
This decidedly one-off model was commissioned by William B Astor, the founder of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. He came to Paris and had this unique bodywork produced complete with buffalo horn side lights and an arched roofline.
1934 De Soto Airflow
My eye was caught by this 90 year old streamliner built by De Soto in 1934.
Notably, the Spaniard Hernando De Soto was a great adventurer and explorer who moved to the New World in the 16th century, becoming Governor of Panama and then moved on to Peru and later the modern-day southeastern United States and Florida. In 1928 the Chrysler Corporation honored his name with a range of cars.
The Airflow represented early examples of aerodynamics in family cars with the sidelights moulded into the front wings and a split windscreen.
It was also a much smaller and lower priced Chrysler to line up alongside models like the Imperial.
1921 Lancia Dikappa
I have a soft spot for Lancias. This is one of the Lancia Dikappas built in 1921 that was one of the fastest road cars available, with a top speed of 130 kph from a 4.9 liter four cylinder in-line engine producing 87 bhp at just 2300 rpm.
This particular one is the short chassis version with custom coachwork. There was also a longer wheelbase Torpedo version.
1939 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina
The Astura range of Lancias of the 1930’s were not just large, elegant and impressive, but were usually styled by Pinin Farina; but this one is somewhat different. It was commissioned by an Italian contessa who clearly appreciated style and elegance. She let Pinin Farina express himself in this unique way and to me it was the outstanding exhibit in the museum. Powered by a 2.9 liter V8 engine on the longest chassis of the Astura range. With its swooping front fenders it is a superb example of streamlining that was being adopted around that period.
1950 Maserati A6 1500 Berlinetta
Maserati’s are always attractive but to me this one is different from usual. It is an early 1950 example of Maserati’s first road car powered by a 1500cc six-cylinder engine developed from the pre-war 6CM but unsupercharged.
What makes this one different from most of the 59 examples is that it has coachwork by Bertone rather than Pinin Farina. The road car project started before WW II and the first prototype ran in 1941 but it did not go into production until 1947. This car was originally owned by the Roman aristocrat Prince Vittorio Massimo de Roccasecca who married Hollywood film actress Dawn Addams. Note the signature three ovoid portholes on the side of the car and the horizontal oval radiator grille.
1949 Kaiser Darren
No museum is complete without a 1949 Kaiser Darrin, built by Henry J Kaiser, designed by Dutch Darrin and one of the first sports cars that used Glaspar to produce its glass fibre bodywork.
And finally, probably the oddest exhibit in the whole exhibition is this mock representation of a 1929 Hotchkiss engine using crystals, jewels and gold chains : Elon Musk eat your heart out!
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