On our recent trip, we spent some time in the "capital of Europe", Brussels. The city is home to "Autoworld", a large automobile museum located in the heart of the Place de Cinquantenaire. Nice Testarossa out front too!
Entering the museum, this beauty awaits... the museum's special exhibition focussed on "60 Years of the Citroen DS". Not an especial favorite of mine, but a very cool car. North Americans might know it best as the car of choice of Patrick Jane, TV's "Mentalist" played by the uber-cool Simon Baker.
A couple of nice rally-prepared DS's.
The museum guides visitors on a chronological tour of auto history. Here's an early De Dion-Bouton.
Beautiful drophead Rolls-Royce.
Police Porsche 911SC Targa.
Sirens and low-slung lamps look pretty vulnerable to road hazards...
Some bubble cars mounted on the walls. BMW Isetta 300.
And a Messerschmitt.
Another 911SC with a tasty Alpine on the lift.
Bugatti!
Get a load of that tail...
Three wheels on my wagon... nice v-twin engine.
Very rare oval-piston Honda NR750.
Wacky Audi concept car with...
...dual controls!?!
The rather ungainly Lamborghini Espada. I never saw the attraction of these, to be honest.
A rather pretty Lancia, I thought.
Alfa Romeo Montreal. Like a 3/4 scale Plymouth Roadrunner, no?
Porsche 912.
Ah! Gorgeous Moretti.
A very awkward-looking body designed for a pre-war Bugatti chassis by a French artist.
Coffin-nose Cord.
It's a big car!
Tasty D-Type Jaguar in a faux pit.
Double-bubble top Abarth.
Porsche 550 Spyder.
Your correspondent.
Achingly gorgeous Toyota 2000GT.
Rear 3/4 view is jewel-like and stunning.
GT40, Renault F1 with Bugatti in background.
Can't get enough of that 2000GT!
"Michel Vaillant" formula car.
Vaillant is a bande-dessinee (comic book) character created by Jean Graton in 1957. His adventures revolve around racing and first appeared in the Tintin comic journal.
Now it's getting serious... Porsche 935.
Pets and small children have been known to get sucked into those fender air intakes...
Gorgeous Kremer-liveried 934 RSR.
Four-cylinder MV Agusta.
Renault Turbo mid-engine rally monster.
One for Andy T - Golf MKI.
Lovely Porsche 924 Carrera GT.
A "WTF" moment - Matra. Looks like the result of unholy congress between a Porsche 914 and a Lotus Elan...
Is this the father?
There was a gift shop also, of course! Lots of models and books.
View of the museum gallery from the second floor.
Obviously there was a ton of stuff in the museum that I didn't photograph. Many many "veteran" cars, horse-drawn carriages (!), and even a cool little gallery about the history of motorsport in Belgium.
I would highly recommend a visit to Autoworld if you're anywhere near Brussels. Admission cost was less than 10 euros for an adult and I felt I got more than my money's worth. The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History is located right across the square, too, so enthusiasts of military history can kill two birds with one stone!
Obviously a "car guy". I think I spotted some pix of the Porsche Museum in another blog! Both are great. I try to go to car museums wherever I travel (and I travel a lot!) Love that one in BRU, and that military one across the street is awesome - and free! Ted
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Ted! You're right, my first posts on this blog were stories about my visits to the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz museums in Stuttgart. A must-visit for sure if you're ever in the area. And yes, I spent a few hours in the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History across the way. I especially enjoyed the Great War galleries there. Europe is full of great museums and great history!
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