A lot of attention has been focused on Basel, Switzerland, this past week as Art Basel 47 brought together the best and the brightest in the art world for a week long extravaganza of art fairs, museum exhibitions, parties and schmoozing. But while the non-stop rain made outdoor events rather less appealing, it was a great opportunity to finally take a short train ride across the border into France and visit the largest automobile museum in the world.
I had heard about the
Cité de l'Automobile and its magnificent collection ever since it opened to the public in 2000 and some car loving art dealers made the excursion to Mulhouse. They raved not only about the 400 masterpieces on view but also the extraordinary exhibition space created out of a former factory owned by the Schlumpf brothers.
Hans and Fritz Schlumpf were born in Italy in 1904 and 1906 respectively to a Swiss father and a French mother. After Hans attended business school in Switzerland, he and his brother went into the wool spinning business and in 1957 purchased the HKD textile factory in Mulhouse. Fritz had a life-long obsession with elegant cars and spent much of his spare time secretly collecting exceptional models of luxury European automobiles like Bugatti, Ferrari and Rolls Royce. He stored them in the factory and hired a team of craftsmen and top mechanics to prepare the vehicles for eventual exhibition.
Needless to say, none of this came cheap and with the downturn in the textile industry in the 1970s the future of the factory and its employees was in peril. In June of 1976 the workers went on strike to protest lay-offs and police were brought in to contain the violence. When the workers broke in to the "secret" areas of the factory they discovered a cache of fabulous motor cars in various states of restoration and realized what a treasure trove the Schumpf brothers had hidden away while their own livelihoods were at stake. Hans and Fritz decamped for Basel, never to return to France.
The factory was sealed and legal battles commenced and after years of litigation the entire collection of priceless motor cars was acquired by the National Automobile Museum Association (NAMA), a consortium comprising several regional governments, the Automobile Club de France, some corporate investors and the organizers of the Paris Motor Show. The "Schlumpf Collection" was ultimately designated a National Heritage Site by the French Government and has been modernized and marketed to become a destination for car enthusiasts from around the world.
My visit began by crossing a footbridge over a canal and passing through a dramatic entryway designed by Studio Milou in 2006. Once inside the excitement builds as we walk through a long passageway with video projections of famous cinematic car scenes until we come to the main attraction - a massive 183,000 square foot exhibition space with literally hundreds of antique cars on display.
Strolling down the brick pathways lit by 800 replicas of the lamp posts on the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, we begin with "The Forerunners", cars produced between 1878-1918, the very earliest horseless carriages like this De dion-Bouton "Biplace Type S" made in France in 1903...
or this 1911 Bugatti Torpedo Type 19 "Bebe"...
This was the era when car manufacturing was in its infancy and from which the modern automobile emerged. From 1920-1938 was "The Classic" phase and probably the golden age of luxury cars typified by such models as this 1927 Bugatti Biplace Sport Type..
this magnificent Mercedes Benz 1938 Cabriolet 540K...
or this super-luxe Hispano-Suiza Cabriolet J12 built in 1922...
Some oddities include this 1938 "La Baleine [Whale]" manufactured by Arzens and its tiny cousin "L'œuf [The Egg]" fabricated by the same maker in 1942...
The highlight of the collection is undoubtedly its two examples (out of a total of six in the world) of the legendary Bugatti "Royale Type 41" luxury coupé. The one below was built in 1929 and features brocade upholstery for the seats. It was Ettore Bugatti's personal car.
After World War II, car manufacturers focused less on high end luxury touring cars and used new materials and assemblies to make safer, faster and cheaper roadsters. These cars are referred to as "The Moderns" and include examples like these very chic Alfa Romeo "Flying Saucers" made in 1953...
The museum also features a large section devoted to racing cars, primarily Ferraris and Bugattis, from the earliest models that could achieve speeds of over 100 mph...
to today's open wheel race cars that routinely travel at more than twice that rate but, at least to me, are missing some of the elegance of their predecessors...
Although I am not a "car person" - I don't even own a car - I have always had an appreciation for the elegance of a beautiful machine. Maybe it comes from my father who loved cars and presented my mother with a Jaguar XK140 as the family vehicle. Not the most practical choice for a woman with children and a German shepherd dog living in the country, but it did draw a lot of stares as she drove into town to do the weekly food shopping! In any case, my afternoon at the Cité de l'Automobile was a most enjoyable one and their collection of magnificent motor cars was like art on wheels.
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