Automobile Museum in Málaga

Automobile Museum in Málaga

Automobile Museum in Málaga where the car is a work of art.

I have seen several car museums in the past including one in Hyderabad in our own country but this one in Málaga takes the cake.

The museum houses the private collection of Portuguese car fanatic João Magalhães. He took up the hobby of looking for vintage cars with his dad at farm houses in Portugal. With 96 cars, this collection now is one of the most important vintage car collections in the world. Believe me, it provides a visual feast for all ages.

The old Tobacco factory Tabacalera, stopped producing Cigar and Cigarettes in early 90’s and remained unused. It was one of Malaga´s most architecturally stunning buildings. After a few years it was converted into this Automobile museum costing 9 million euros and was opened in the year 2010.

The first car in the exhibition is so old (year 1898) that it not only looks like a horse-drawn carriage but it actually is !! It needed horses to pull it. (Talk of horse-power!)
The museum is divided into 10 sections, dedicated to various eras and themes.

A black Rolls Royce called Swarovsky flaunts itself because it is decorated with Swarovsky crystals while another, the Flower Power, coyly boasts of its painted design reflecting the psychedelic art of that time. A car with flames painted along the sides and super-powerful sound systems sits in a corner waiting for my attention. I especially enjoyed seeing these cars.
The museum also hosts fine examples of Bugatti, Auburn, Bentley, Jaguar, Ferrari and Mercedes … you can admire a host of collectibles from a bygone age.

There is a picnic car with its seats, carriers made with cane. It also has a picnic basket containing cutlery giving you a complete feel of real picnic !
There is an ‘Egg’ car which doesn’t need any introduction and there is a small lightweight car too which has non-metal body. Boat car, space jet car, a car for long drives in which you can make a bed to sleep are a few more examples.

Boat car.

The refrigerator car!

Then there is a car which was exchanged for a fridge!! It so happened that a small car was introduced by Rolls Royce for younger & modern generation. In 1950s, Magalhães traced down this car to an old lady in a village. Obviously the car was not any use to her. She was poor and badly needed a fridge, so she asked for a fridge in exchange of this car. 🙂

There are many car engines designed & painted in bold colors.

But this museum is more than just cars and engines; it is also about fashionable hats. If you are a female, I am sure you’ll drool over a collection of 300 vintage hats. From Balenciaga to Schiaparelli it features headpieces dating from hat heyday, from all the great fashion houses.
Chanel, Dior, Lanvin, Balmain … there’s even a replica of Dali’s shoe hat! These are well complemented by period travel-related pieces, such as old-fashioned leather suitcases and huge antique trunks.

The cars are not only works of art to marvel at, but also to use which makes this museum different than other art museums. For example, every Sunday one of the cars is taken out ‘for a spin’, where the sound of a classic engine grumbles throughout the museum.

On Saturdays a guided tour enlightens visitors on the use of alternative energy sources in car engineering. Be it steam, electronic, solar or a prototype hydrogen car, it’s a great way to learn about them.

Entrance Fees:
General ticket: 6.00 Euros. Discounted ticket: 3.00 Euros (Senior citizens, children under 6 years).
Student ticket: 4.50 Euros.
Ticket with guided visit: 9 Euros

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