What an incredible collection. The Marconi Automotive Museum may not be huge, but its list of cars reads like any car fanatics ultimate wish list. Imagine a place with a Ferrari 512 TR, F40 and F50 all next to each other. Or the iconic Lamborghini Countach next to the nearly-forgotten Cizeta-Moroder V16T. The museum even has the angular time-traveling stainless-steel favorite, a DeLorean, next to the always-resplendent-in-silver Mercedes 300 SL.
In a town with many excellent car museums, the Marconi is a stand out with cars of a certain era, specifically so many sports cars from the 70s, 80s and 90s. It’s not focused on that per se, but it’s certainly the majority of the collection.
Housed mostly in one large warehouse-sized room, plus a smaller annex, the Marconi is able to pack in dozens of legendary machines.
As you enter you’re greeted by two rows of motorcycles, racing and sports bikes from different eras. Enter the main space and the drool really begins. Red and yellow Ferraris are right by the entrance. There are no ropes, you can walk right up to each car.
As amazing as it is getting up close to some of these legends, there are a few lesser-known cars here that might even be more impressive. The aforementioned Cizeta-Moroder V16T for example, one of the only modern cars with a V16 (technically two V8s that share a gearbox). This car is wide, 81-inches, which is about as wide as a modern Chevy Suburban.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Then there’s the Ferrari FX, the only one you’ll likely ever see. Made special-order for the Sultan of Brunei, only six were made, and this is the only one not still in Brunei. Slightly less rare, though the first I’ve seen in a museum, is a Lamborghini Espada, looking long, wide and gorgeous. Somewhere between those two is a Jaguar/TWR XJ220-S (1 of 5), an Aston Martin DB AR1 (1 of 99), a Lambo Jarama (1 of 328), and one of my favorites, a BMW M1 (1 of 457). Dozens of other amazing cars sit side-by-side vying for attention. All are drool worthy.
The left and right walls of the museum have race cars, including a Ferrari driven by Michael Schumacher and a Honda driven by Ayrton Senna.
Perhaps the best part of the Marconi is the price: a $5 suggested donation. For any car fan this is an easy price to pay given all the wonderful cars within. Sure the Petersen is bigger and better known, but for fans of sports cars, the Marconi is a great way to spend an afternoon.
If you can’t make it in person (they’re only open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and not at all on weekends), check out the photos above.
In his alternate life as a travel writer, Geoff does tours of cool museums and locations around the world including nuclear submarines, medieval castles, iconic music studios and more. You can follow his exploits on Twitter, Instagram and on his travel blog BaldNomad. He also wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel.
[“Source-ndtv”]