Grand Prix cars at the Loh museum, go see them

Yes, Formula 1 celebrates its 75^th birthday this year. But the history of Grand Prix cars is much older. Germany’s Nationale Automuseum The Loh Collection highlights (over) a century of single-seater Grand Prix racing with a new temporary display that opens on April 12.

Grand Prix cars have been the epitome of motor racing since forever. Pushing the limit of what man-made propulsion can achieve. The Nationales Automuseum The Loh Collection, housed in Ewersbach, Germany, has assembled a quite formidable display, starting with the 1904 Gordon Bennet Napier, not yet a single-seater. There is the 1923 Mercedes Indianapolis contestant, one of the last Paul Daimler cars.

Tazio’s Alfas

With the unrestored Bugatti T35 B, winner of the first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929, we move into single-seater territory. Nuvolari fans can see not only the 1935 Alfa Romeo P3, but also the monstrous 1935 Alfa Romeo 16C BiMotore with which he attained a top speed of 364 kph (226 mph).

Mercedes fleet

Mercedes is particularly well represented in the exhibition, with not just a 1954 W 196 R Streamliner (see Tazio 14 for more on that), but also a pre-war Silver Arrow in the form of the 1938 W 154, the 1994 Ilmor-Mercedes-powered Penske PC26 Indycar, an ex-Michael Schumacher 2012 Mercedes and the F1 W10 with which Lewis Hamilton added another world title to his tally in 2019. With the 1999 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-14, there is another championship-winning car present, which had Mika Häkkinen behind the wheel.

Championship winners

There are more championship-winning F1s in the line-up; the Maserati 250F that helped Juan Manuel Fangio clinch his fifth and final world title in 1956. James Hunt’s 1976 championship-winning McLaren M23, Nelson Piquet’s 1983 world championship winner; the Brabham BT52. There is Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F2000 – the one with which he scored his first world championship for the Scuderia – and his F2004. And Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 Ferrari F2007.

Wait, it’s not over yet. The list includes the 1938 16-cylinder Auto Union Type D, Stefan Bellof’s Tyrrell 010 or Lauda’s 1972 Ferrari 312 B3, and so on.

A ticket allowing access to both the temporary display and the permanent collection is €26, available here. A ticket for the Grand Prix exhibition only is €9.50. The museum is opened Wednesday to Sunday.