Or Museo Auto. In Italian it’s Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile di Torino. No wonder they need a short name like MAUTO.
THE VERY FIRST CAR IS A BENZ
BENZ VICTORIA | 1893 Germany “Hidden away for years under a pile of wood, this is the first car from the “inventor” of the motor car. I’m curious though, because I know that the very first MOTORWAGEN that Karl Benz invented was a 3-wheeler. I guess this was the first 4-wheeler?
DID YOU KNOW that the first person to go on a road trip was not Carl Benz but his wife Bertha Benz. It was because of her financial support that he was able to invent the first true automobile. She was with her 2 kids when she did it & was ingenious in solving the different problems that came up during the 130-mile ride. And because of the publicity of the trip they started getting their first orders of the car.
On 5 August 1888, she was the first person to drive an internal-combustion-engined automobile over a long distance, field testing the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, inventing brake lining and solving several practical issues during the journey of 105 km (65 miles).[1]
– WIKIPEDIA
THE FIRST FIAT
FIAT 3 1/2 HP | 1899 Italy: This is the very first car of FIAT that came out 3 months after the company was set up. Only 4 of this model have survived. This car is 124 years old.
Can you tell TD’s favorite color is green?
Me: wow nice white wheels!
ELECTRIC CARS
STAE | 1909 Italy “the future looks “electric” and performance provides confirmation: petrol will have to struggle.
FIAT DOWNTOWN | 1993 Italy “Environmentally friendly, sparkling & urban: Fiat in 1993 is already betting on electricity for it’s idea of a citycar”
THE GLAMOROUS PAST
It was so fun seeing these glamourous cars of the past. Though I’m sure I prefer the suspension of our current cars.
1914 ROLLS-ROYCE Silver Ghost
“From the Salons to battle front: not even grenades, bullets or passing years can stop the Silver Ghost.” This is such an iconic car from Rolls Royce.
Even the boys had fun posing for photos!
AUDIO GUIDES
The cool thing with this museum is you can just scan a QR code & get audioguides. They have 2 kinds of audioguides: 1 for adults and 1 for kids, but we all prefered the kids one because it was simpler & shorter. So if you go to this museum, download the kid’s audio guide!
They also highlighted cars that modernized the look & technology of cars.
The Cadillac photowall! Nothing is more American than a Cadillac. It’s big, bold & a favorite in films.
BMW ISETTA 300 | 1962 GERMANY
“Ingenious design & engineering, made in Italy. It had to emigrate to find success.” I mean how cute is this car! So tiny!
Cars that were featured in pop culture
The 2 cream cars L to R: 1958 ACMA VESPA 400 & 1967 INNOCENTI MINI T. Personally I’ve always loved how the Mini looks. Almost every other car we see here is a Mini BUT when we test-drove it in the highways here, the suspension leaves something to be desired. That’s why we got a BMW as a 2nd car instead of a Mini as originally planned. If I could, I would prefer to have 2 Mercedes Benzes, but they don’t offer in-house financing here in Switzerland.
CITROEN 2CV
DID YOU KNOW? In France, the Citroen 2CV had a status similar to that of the VW Beetle in Germany.
Without cars how can we have all these road trips & adventures?
Nothing says speed better than a red Ferrari
SMALL BUT TERRIBLE
This FIAT carried the former Italian President, Sandro Pertini, around Rome.
THE EVOLUTION OF PARTS
In this room you can see how the engine, grill & wheel have evolved over the ages. The engine displays are even mirrored so you can see how it looks from the bottom. Car aficionados would love this for sure.
CHEVROLET CORVETTE C1 CABRIO
1957 | United States
“The most beloved car in America, it is the sports car par excellence….it’s distinctive chromed side moldings & it’s legendary “small block” v8 engine, a magnificent example of engineering.”
We posed here coz I just loved the colors of this car Aqua with white & chrome details. Little did we know that you can ride inside and they take a picture of you, which you cam purchase before you exit.
CAR SCULPTURES
There were a lot of fun things too. There was even a fun yet informative ride.
RACING CARS
This was especially interesting for me & TD because we watch we love watching Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive. I wish DiploBaby could watch it but there is too much cursing.
This display shows the evolution of racecars. It’s so cool to see how it began & how it is now! The first racecars….
To the current racecars!
How cute is that tiny little racecar? I guess these are go-karts?
The 1854 MERCEDES BENZ W196 R racecar won 9 of 12 races entered and captured the only two world championships in which it competed.
The 2005 FERRARI F-2005 ended the age of Schumaker’s five championships.
We found this section of famous automobiles interesting.
Here you can vote for your favorite cars.
The ALPINE A4810 is the winning concept in a contest where 28 students from Turin’s IED Design School participated. It is a hydrogen-powered, two-seater berlinette with aerodynamics heavily influenced by Formula 1. It looks stunning right? Alpine is a brand under the French Renault Group.
DiploBaby was in heaven. Red is his favorite color.
THE GREAT CAR DESIGNERS
This section of the great car designers was interesting too because they featured in each box 1) their source of inspiration, 2) their car design debut, 3) their greatest car design, 4) the car they wished they designed, 5) the ingenious invention of history & 6) their homage to the museum.
It’s very visual so easy to understand even for kids.
ANCIENT INVENTIONS
We also see the precursor of cars. What inventions throughout history used wheels.
I found this tricycle so interesting. The paraplegic German inventor wanted to be mobile & more independent & he was inspired by watchmaking. Brilliant.
CAR FAKES
This hall shows fake cars that were confiscated by authorities. It’s pretty crazy!
Upon exiting the moody exhibits, it’s nice to be greeted by a a bright skylight with more cars on display. Isn’t this cute pink FIAT 500 Ghia Jolly with rattan seats so cute???
The car was quite expensive (it was almost double the price of a normal “500”) and was a cult object , coveted and purchased by many VIPs from the world of finance , entertainment and politics , such as Aristotle Onassis , Yul Brynner , Enrico Berlinguer , Mario Berrino , and Silvio Berlusconi , to be embarked on their yachts or for use as a ” golf cart ” and on their real estate properties.
– WIKIPEDIA
THE GIFT SHOP
We don’t normally buy souvenirs from every gift shop, but since DiploBaby is such a huge fan of cars, we said he could get 1 car to remember this trip. He was getting stressed because he wanted to buy American brand China-made cars & for me, that defeats the purpose of buying something from a European Museum.
Gosh even these handmade car models from Canada, Brooklin Models, is so expensive! Whoa!
Lots of merch!
We finally settled on a yellow Lamborghini. It’s probably China made but at least it’s an Italian brand because we are in the National Automobile Museum of Turin.
This 2009 LAMBORGHNI MURCIELAGO LP 670 was seized by italan finance police in the “Rien na va plus” operation.
We walked and learned a lot so it was time to go and have a bite. We all agreed it was time for KFC LOL! Even the external structural design of the museum is quite striking.
SEE THE REST OF MY ITALIAN RECOS HERE
NATIONAL CAR MUSEUM TURIN
Mon 10 am – 2 pm • Tues – Sun 10 am – 7 pm
Ticket office closes 1 hour before closing time
TICKET PRICES
Corso Unità d’Italia 40 10126 Torino
Tel. 011 677666 Fax 011 6647148
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