TOUR OF FRANCE –13TH-22ND AUGUST
News
Bugattis as
far as the eye can see at the Cité de l’Automobile.
F
ollowing the success of the Brooklands Trust Members’ French forays to the
Circuit des Remparts and Laon over the past two years, we are planning a private BTM tour to visit French transport museums in 2017.
In the survey completed by members a while ago, a significant number expressed interest in visiting the Schlumpf collection (now the Cité de l’Automobile). This museum has therefore been made the destination for a French tour in August. This, together with three other museums, cover almost all major forms of transport. More information can be found from their websites (addresses given below).
This tour is primarily a social gathering and it is not mandatory to bring a classic car as some may prefer the comfort, for long-distance travel, of a modern vehicle, with boot space to bring back wine and other regional delicacies!
To offer something for everyone there will be time for other pursuits. Although nothing has been planned, some members may opt for a leisurely drive through the French countryside with lunch in a small village, or choose to visit a vineyard in the regions of Champagne, Burgundy or Alsace. The driving time between destinations has been limited to a maximum of around four hours a day by the most direct route, again as members requested.
A limited number of hotel rooms are being held but it is important that we confirm these quickly if this tour is to go ahead. That means deposits are required as soon as possible to secure a place. There is a minimum number of cars needed with- out which the tour will not be viable. Please do not delay a decision for too long.
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The first stop will be at Reims, with a visit to the Musée Automobile de Reims-Champagne (
www.musee-automobile-reims-champagne. com/en). Created in 1985 by Philippe Charbonneaux, this museum displays over 200 cars and motor bikes from 1908 to nowadays. Vehicles that Charbonneaux designed are on show, from 1948 Delahayes and a 1965 Berliet Stradair city truck to his final ‘Ellipsis’ prototypes from the 1990s. French pre-war cars are a further highlight, including survivors from marques such as CIME and Michel Irat.
At the Château de Savigny-Lès-Beaune (
http://reception-aviation.chateau-savigny.com /en/
musee.htm) there are 250 motor bikes dating from 1902 to 1960, 30 tractor prototypes developed in the castle park, fire-fighters, aircraft (80 fighters including four aircraft from the Patrouille de France, 11 MIGs and 17 Dassaults) and one of the finest and rarest collections of Abarth prototypes in the world (30 different models, including some unique ones which the owner of the castle drove in his seven years of international racing).
Included by popular demand, the Cité de l’Automobile at Mulhouse is claimed to be the biggest automotive museum in the world and houses more than 400 cars. Assembled in secret by the Schlumpf brothers this collection was initially predominantly Bugattis, but also included other significant cars, such as Grand Prix Mercedes. Now, under the control of the state, it is split into three main areas covering the story of the car from its beginnings to the modern day, motor racing and an unrivalled display of pre-war masterpieces, many of which can only be seen here.
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