One year of The Loh Collection National Automobile Museum: on July 23, 2023, the collection in Dietzhölztal-Ewersbach in central Hesse opened its doors to the public. Since then, the museum has welcomed more than 85,000 visitors from all over the world - proof of the unbroken fascination that cars hold for people of all ages.
The museum has also established itself as a popular starting point, stopover or destination for classic car rallies, orientation drives and club meetings.
New: Opel anniversary exhibition with 15 vehicles
The museum is ringing in the second year of its existence with an exhibition celebrating 125 years of automobile construction at Opel. From August 1 to November 17, the special show integrated into the permanent exhibition will present a total of 15 vehicle highlights from the eventful history of the Rüsselsheim-based brand, including the first Opel automobile, the Patent Motor Car from 1899.
Other treasures from the classic section include the 4/12 hp "Laubfrosch" from 1924, with which Opel introduced assembly line production in German automobile manufacturing, the luxurious Opel Admiral from 1939 and the Commodore GS/E, with which Opel broke the 200 km/h sound barrier in 1970. The brand's motorsport history is documented by the 12 hp racing car from 1903, the Safari Rally Ascona from 1983 and the legendary "Cliff" Calibra, which won the International Touring Car Championship (ITC) in 1996.
The Corsa Moon from 1997 takes things to the space age; the GT Concept from 2016 and Corsa-e Rally Concept from 2019 represent the most recent era.
The large special exhibition "Ferrari - Masterpieces for the racetrack and road" runs in parallel and will remain open until spring 2025.
Highest accolade in the classic car scene for a museum
Not only the visitor numbers, but also the feedback from guests shows that the overall concept of museum, gastronomy, entertainment and store has been well received. The National Automobile Museum also caused quite a stir among experts. The international status of the collection of around 150 selected vehicles with exhibits from 1885 to the present day is demonstrated by the award of the FIA Founding Members' Club Heritage Cup in December 2023. In the classic car scene, this is the highest international award that a museum can receive. The press response was also overwhelming: "Stern" wrote of the "most spectacular car museum in Europe" and "Der Spiegel" of an "ode to the joy of driving".
Two spectacular special exhibitions
It was not only the museum's impressive permanent exhibition that attracted great public interest. The two special exhibitions, unique in their quality worldwide, have also played a major part in this since the opening. The first was "100 years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans - the myth, the heroes, the cars" with 21 original Le Mans racing cars from 1928 to the present day.
The follow-up exhibition "Ferrari - Masterpieces for the racetrack and road" opened in March 2024. It presents high-class vehicles from the Italian dream car brand from eight decades, including two Formula 1 world champion cars from Michael Schumacher and the hypercar quintet of 288 GTO, F40, F50, Enzo Ferrari and LaFerrari, now known as the "Ferrari Big Five". Unique winning cars from historic road races such as the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and the Carrera Panamericana are also on display.
Exclusively for the special exhibitions, the museum has published the books "Le Mans - Highlights of the first 100 years" and "Ferrari - Masterpieces for the race track and road", written by experienced motor journalist and author Jörg Walz. The latter was published in cooperation with the renowned Motorbuch Verlag.
The museum as a university campus
Unique in Germany: since the winter semester of 2023, the National Motor Museum has also functioned as a university campus for the Faculty of Business and Law at Nürtingen-Geislingen University (HfWU). Prof. Dr. Jochen Buck, Professor of Forensic Expert Witnessing at the HfWU, welcomed the first students to Dietzhölztal-Ewersbach during the winter break. In a one-semester certificate course, students train to become Certified Experts for Historic Cars (CEHC), i.e. experts for classic vehicles.
The "Certified Expert for Car Design" (CECD) course also started in November 2023 under the academic direction of Prof. Wolfgang Henseler from the Faculty of Design at Pforzheim University. It is aimed at anyone interested in the subject of car design who has always wanted to take a closer look at the subject. Later in the year, a series of lectures on automotive history will also be launched in the HfWU's Automotive Management course.
Further information on the National Automobile Museum "The Loh Collection" can be found on the museum's website.
