"You don't know what you've got until it's gone". This freely translated line from the song "big yellow cab" by Joni Mitchell may come to mind when reading the news that the private museum of well-known collector and businessman Peter Mullin in Oxnard, California, is closing for good. Fortunately, the song lyrics do not apply to the author: he was there some time ago and was able to take a close look at the exquisite collection of cars, mostly of French provenance.
Gates are closed for good
But now this is definitely no longer possible, as the Mullin Automotive Museum closed its doors on February 10, 2024. This world-class museum housed a unique collection of cars from various brands from the Art Deco era, with the blue metallic painted Bugatti T 57SC Atlantic from 1936 (known as the "Williamson Atlantic" after the first owner) certainly being the best-known exhibit.
Peter Mullin, who died in September 2023 at the age of 82, had created fascinating automobiles from the early 20th century. They were housed and attractively presented in an outwardly rather inconspicuous former museum building with 50,000 square meters of floor space.
Founded by Peter Mullin and his wife Merle, the museum was opened in 2010 and is open to small groups of visitors by appointment as part of a guided tour. Mullin's credo was to preserve these "rolling sculptures" for future generations.
As recently as 2021, the museum was named "Museum/Collection of the Year" at the Octane Historic Motoring Awards.
Collection will not remain
But now the collection is being closed. The local newspaper "Ventura County Star" reported that four cars will find a new home at the renowned Petersen Automotive Museum in neighboring Los Angeles. They will undoubtedly fit in well there, especially as Peter Mullin was also a member of the founding board. At least two of these cars are quite well known: one is the Talbot-Lago T 150 C-SS "Teardrop" coupé (1937), which once belonged to the "Bentley Boy" Woolf Barnato.
The other vehicle is the Hispano Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia from 1938, a car that is stunning from every angle and built by Saoutchik. According to the magazine "Road & Track", the other two vehicles are a Delahaye 165 from 1939 and a Delahaye 145 from 1938.
A further 20 vehicles will then be auctioned off on April 26, 2024 by the auction company Gooding & Company in the former museum building in Oxnard.
We will let readers know which cars are involved in due course. If you missed the visit to the Mullin Museum or would like to take another look at the fascinating collection, you can find a movie of the last opening day on the Internet. Or read the museum visit report on Zwischengas.
Future of the British project?
Another question also remains exciting. Mullin had been planning to build a new car museum for around 30 cars on a former military site in Oxfordshire in the south of England since 2017. This was to be complemented by a course along with restaurants, a gift store, houses and apartments for classic car owners.
Mullin saw this project as an opportunity to bring his European collector cars back to Europe. However, as is not uncommon with such large-scale projects, this project was delayed. What will become of it now?
