Sun, 14 March 2010
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A new exhibition in Hamburg puts some of the world's most beautiful cars on display. Just don't call it a museumGerman businessman Oliver Schmidt dislikes the word "museum" and that is why visitors to a fascinating new display of cars in the heart of Hamburg will find no reference to it.
"The term museum conjures up images of dust and boredom and that is not what this is all about," said 34-year-old Schmidt.
Together with his friend and architect Thomas Koenig, 36, Schmidt has created Prototyp, a collection of cars, memorabilia and art in the fast-growing Hafencity district along the Elbe river which flows though this north German seaport.
Visitors to the imposing red brick building, which once housed a rubber factory, cannot fail to be impressed too by the dazzling white walls and airy interior of this homage to excellence.
The exhibition houses around 50 cars on three floors and instead of being roped off, the rare automobiles are there for all to enjoy, touch and photograph. Even explanatory signs are kept to a minimum.
Exhibits include exquisite Porsche sports cars such as a timelessly elegant 906 Carrera from 1966 and a Porsche 550 Spyder just like the one owned by Hollywood film icon James Dean. There are also historical track racing cars from Audi and Borgward.
Pride of place goes to the Jordan driven by seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher in his maiden Formula One race at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. The young German grabbed seventh place on the grid but dropped out of the competition after only 500 yards when the clutch failed.
Another fascinating car on display is the single seat racer used by Austrian ace Otto Mathe, who enjoyed spectacular track success despite having lost his arm in a motorbike crash. Even the battered VW microbus 
he used while touring European circuits is on display.
Visitors who want to see how the machines at Prototyp performed in their heyday can use computer screens to flick through digital photo collections or else step into a sound booth with authentic recordings from such classic events as the Le Mans 24-hour race.
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