AUTOMOBIL-VETERANEN-SALON

Description

The Automobil‑Veteranen‑Salon is located in Gundelfingen an der Donau in Bavaria, a collection of historic vehicles with a focus on early automobiles and motorcycles.

The collection began in the 1960s, when a collector searched in France, Spain and Portugal for unusual old vehicles, partly at scrapyards. The vehicles found were brought to Germany and restored when necessary. The museum in Gundelfingen opened in 1972 and for years was open daily during the summer. Over time visitor numbers declined; after on 1 May 2011, despite numerous cyclists passing by, not a single guest had entered the building, the operator changed public opening to visits by appointment. The current access status is uncertain: a 2014 overview of car museums contains no entry; on the Deutsche Museumsstraße website there was no entry as of 12 November 2022, while the town of Gundelfingen continues to list the museum.

The displayed collection comprises only a few dozen vehicles. Sources speak of around 15 cars and nine motorcycles; another source gives 20 automobiles, ten motorcycles, five mopeds, two bicycles, six trucks, 20 tractors and five engines. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary a vehicle catalogue was published in 1982 describing many exhibits; some of these are regarded as one‑offs.

The automobiles on show include early Hispano‑Suiza models, among them a Hispano‑Suiza 12–15 HP from 1908, as well as makes from France and Great Britain such as Rolland‑Pilain RP 5 (1913), Grégoire 132 B (1919), Automobiles Unic and Georges Irat from the 1920s. Other represented types range from Talbot and Opel to Delage and Salmson and extend to postwar models like the MG TC (1946) or a Ferrari 212 Export (1952). Commercial vehicles come, among others, from FAMO, Hanomag, Lanz and MAN.

The motorcycle display features early and rare machines, for example Laurin & Klement CCD (1904), Neander 1000 MAG (1929), Imperia 500 Sport (1929), Victoria KR 6 (1935) with sidecar, BMW models from the 1930s and 1940s, as well as postwar machines such as a Riedel R 100 (1950) and an Adler M 250 (1956).