La Course Automobile
And then, there are the racing cars.
While once the Bugatti Grand Prix cars and other significant competition cars were displayed throughout the museum, they are now housed in a separate display wing titled, appropriately, La Course Automobile.
Stepping through the archway to enter this bright, well-lit area is indeed stepping into another world and place. The largest number of automobiles exhibited in the Schlumpf Collection remain in row upon row on gravel bisected by the tile walkways, and others in the subdued blue light of the Motorcar Masterpieces gallery, but the earliest racing cars have been given a stark, white environment where each example can be studied and appreciated.
La Course Automobile
1902 Serpolet Paris-Madrid (right) 1908 Panhard-Levassor
1908 Sizaire-Naudin 12hp
Bugatti Type 13 'Brescia'
Bugatti Type 35-37
Further on visitors enter yet another gallery where a pair of pre-war Mercedes Silver Arrow Grand Prix cars give way to a post-war Grand Prix grid filling one side of the hall, with a singular exhibit of Le Mans sports cars on the other side.
Mercedes-Benz W125, W154
The small post-war Bugatti organization also attempted a comeback to Grand Prix racing with the Type 251, which forever occupies the first starting position on the museum’s 1950s GP grid.
Built during 1955-1956, the 251 was a radical rear-engine car designed by Gioacchino Columbo—usually associated with Ferrari—and powered by a transversely mounted 2.5 liter dohc in-line eight-cylinder engine. The Type 251 was entered in a GP only once, driven by Maurice Trintignant at the 1956 French Grand Prix where it retired early in the race.
The Type 251 is flanked on the 1950s Grand Prix grid by the also intriguing Gordini Type 32 from 1956. Amédée Gordini was a fiercely nationalistic tuner, whose cars carried the French blue gallantly at Le Mans and in the new Formula One in post-war years in spite of always being short of funds. Gordini was a close friend of Fritz Schlumpf and all of the remaining Gordini racers became part of the Schlumpf Collection when Gordini joined Renault, where he contributed to the development to Renault Sport and Renault’s later F1 success.
Turning toward the newer GP grid a Lotus 18 and Lotus 25 fill the back row, looking forward in the future toward a Ferrari driven by John Surtees. At the front of the grid are the newer F1 cars including a Renault and Williams-Renault World Champion.
Bugatti Type 251 GP 1956
Gordini Type 32, Bugatti Type 251
Maserati 250F, Ferrari F2
Cisitalia D 46, Ferrari F2
Talbot-Lago, Maserati 4CM
Lotus 18, Lotus 25
Ferrari 156 Aero
On the sports car side, the cars are angled into their start positions on the Le Mans pit road. What may very well represent the greatest collection of Gordini sports cars in the world fills the small bore end of the grid, which continues past a Mercedes 300 SLR of the type that was leading Le Mans in 1955 before Pierre Levegh’s accident led to the team’s withdrawal from the race.
At the fastest end of the pits are recent Porsche, Audi and Bentley, as well as a Renault-Alpine A442B team car with its radical windscreen cum roof from 1978.
Gordini Sports Racing Cars
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
Renault-Alpine A442B Le Mans
Porsche 956 Le Mans
Audi R8 Le Mans
Bentley Speed 8 Le Mans
About Leigh Dorrington
Marvelous piece by Leigh Dorrington. Enjoyed learning about the Schlumpf brothers, ie the story behind the story. The only downside is that I have yet another addition to my bucket list of automotive to-dos.
Fabulous article. I’ll be in France in April and I will make an to get to this exhibit.
This collection sucks because it does not have a Bandini or Stanguellini, JUST KIDDING! I think I’d drop dead upon entering this shrine from heart failure. It looks like they have made many upgrades to the facilities since my Father first visited there in the 1980′s. This museum is my Mecca and I will visit there some day!
Hey Cliff, Only an hour north is Molsheim and all the original Bugatti property, plus the fabulous glass atelier where the Veyrons are constructed. That is certainly worth a visit too. Permission to visit can be obtained from Julius Kruta, a charming, cosmopolitan young man who speaks several languages brilliantly. julius.kruta@bugatti.com
Not far from the Cité de l’Automobile – National Museum – Schlumpf Collection is the French National Railway Museum. This museum is loaded with wonderful European trains. One WW1 era flat car has a large WW1 artillery piece mounted on its bed. Unfortunately it is adjustable for up/down only and not for left or right. I am no artillery expert but this does seem to present a few problems. Another museum in Mulhouse is the Wallpaper Design Museum. The museum illustrates the history of wallpaper. Don’t laugh there are enough interesting samples to make an interesting afternoon visit. The drive down through the Alsace region on the way to Mulhouse is one loaded with wonderful restaurants, wineries and Absinthe distilleries. All in all a wonderful place to spend a week.
Enjoy.
Great article.
Has anyone ever tried to assess what their investment into this collection was and the possible collection value today?
Truly astounding.
Fascinating article, but what a shame the racers in particular are stuck in the museum and not out doing what they built for.
Magnificent article. There are so many Bugattis in that museum that the most exotic becomes almost commonplace. I thought that Mulhouse was rather far off the usual tourist trails of France, but the journey from south to north over near the Swiss border leading to Strasbourg was magnificent. I bet Cliff Reuter will go out of his mind when he gets to this Mecca.
Visited museum this summer, took the wife to Basel to see the paintings but the real art was in the Cite de Auto. I’ve never seen so many significant cars in one place. The shop at the end of the tour was filled with so many cool things we just don’t see here in america. If memory serves me right every winning bugatti from the pre war era was there. I became a big fan of Bugatti blue and will always remember my experience at Shlumph as the greatest day of my car guy existence. If Sunday morning at pebble beach is the zenith than this place is the Mecca of all car collections.
Both thanks and kudos to Leigh Dorrington: until I can get there this is a fine substitute.
I respectfully question Carig Zinn’s “if memory serves me right every winning bugatti from the pre war era was there”: did he mean that every *type* that won was represented, or that all the actual cars that won pre-war were present. If the latter, I respectfully disagree in that two winning Bugs belong to a friend and an acquaintance respectively.
Still, I share with Craig a loyal affection to Bugatti blue, even though my personal taste runs to the cars across the English Channel.
Thank you again, Leigh for a wonderful evocation of a distinguished collection.
Interesting article. The Schlumpf collection ie really worth while visiting. The Schlumpf brothers are usually described as monsters but maybe they were not as bad as that. One can wonder who has done more harm, the Schlumpf brothers or the communist unions. After all they saved a lot of now valuable cars from the scrap yard with an investment that was not at all enormous. just look at the less than $100.000.- for the 30 Shakespire Bugattis and Shakespire even had to pay for the shipping.
And then to a few corrections to the article: the recreation of the Esders Royale was begun by Schlumpf but only finished after the seizure by the French state. The body was built by Carosserie Lecocq in Paris. The illustration showing a blue car with the Coupé Napoleon in the background is not a T50 but a T57.
Thank you for sharing an extreemly fascinating account of the Schlumpf brothers, there history & legascy,..and of course,there ‘world-renouned’ immpeccable collection of
exotic vintage vehicles.I look forward to a visit.
I enjoy ‘documenting historical’, rhedundant, rhetorical details on individual components and modifications to such,
in such rare vintage vehicles regularly, with very private
collectors,daily;Professionally & confidentially.
Thanks for sharing. It’s always inspiring to all.
Kurt Stoops SFGI./VAA.Inc.President,Senior Appraiser.USA.
What Mac Lunde said.
Greatly enjoyed both text and photos even though the information and the cars are familiar to me.
A book about the Collection by Jenkinson and Verstappen mis-identifies the beautiful gas lights that stand along the aisles of cars. Your article states the obvious correction: the lights are based on those from the Pont Alexandra III in Paris, not Venetian lights. By the way: it’s redundant to say “bridge” after Pont Alexandre III.
Well done Leigh. Thanks.
I have always been amazed by this collection…so large and such rare cars. Also the setting they created. Gravel beds-wonderful ides for leaks!
Thanks for another great article.
I think the best museums in the US are the Peterson, Simeone and the Mullin. Anyone agree or disagree??
-cliff
Cannot argue with your list, although for my tastes there are as good or better collections in the States…private though.
I got to see the collection in 1985 as part of the Porsche club Treffen tour that year. It looks like they’ve really expanded the facility. My main memory was row after row of blue cars on gravel surfaces, and the light fixtures.
not quite correct,Fritz Schlumpf DID see his beloved collection again.But only in a wheelchair many years later shortly before his death at the invitation of the new managemant.Arlette Schlumpf [his wife] eventually won her case for compensation for the theft of the collection.
I did not dare to mention theft, but this is actually what it was. The fact that Arlette Schlumpf won the case and that Collection Schlumpf was added to the name of the museum is prrof enough.
as a member of the Association Internationale des Amis du Musée National de l’Automobile de Mulhouse – Collection Schlumpf the article was very welcome. we not only support the Museum financially but also have on going projects to restore cars in the museum. we also work 4 saturdays in the year cleaning the cars. please have a look at our web site for more information. membership costs €40 per year and the member has unlimited free visits to the museum. http://www.amisdumusee.org . basically we are French and German speaking but any English speaking readers can contact me for further information. if you decide to join the club always wants to know who “brought” you to the club, so please give my name Lawrence Sufryn. my skype id is LEO68130
It’s a real shame when you think the U.S.A had a similar collection of great cars ( including 2 Royales ) but when Mr Harrah passed away they were all sold off by Kruse , why wasn’t that collection kept intact as a National Treasure ?
Even today when one comes up for sale the ad always reads “Ex Harrah”
What a great article and story. One car that Fritz Schlumpf tried to buy in 1963 resides here in the USA at the Simeone Museum, Philadelphia, the 1936 Bugatti Type 57G “Tank” that won the 1937 Le Mans. This car is on display and runs on the 3 acre parking lot next to the building for the enjoyment of the museum visitors on demo days that are held once per month. Thank goodness this car stayed in the USA!!
Correction to my post: There is a typo. It should read Pont Alexandre III, not ‘a’ at the end. Sorry.
Totally mind bogeling collection but a pity never to see any out and about or better still on the race track. My Grand Uncle, Cuthbert Foster, was the origonal owner of one of the Bugatti Royales, which I think is in America. My father went in it once and told me it was massive, after his Hotchkiss engined Bullnosed Morris Cowley! Cuthbert was killed during the war. I seem to remember a tale about Briggs Cunningham obtaining two Royales, off a member of the Bugatti family, after WW2, in exchange for some fridges and freezers made by General Electric. True or false anyone?