Words and photos: Kevin Ehrlich & Mary Fischer
Germans have a long relationship with the automobile. The best-known German brands have sparking museums scattered across the country to tell their stories. Munich is the home of BMW. Audi’s home is Ingolstadt. Mercedes and Porsche share Stuttgart. Volkswagen and Wolfsburg are synonymous. Thousands visit each year.
The newest museum in Germany, however, is far away from the industrial centers. It is not a manufacturer showcase, but rather the collection of an enthusiast with an eye towards the significant, unique, and original.
The private Loh Collection transformed into the Nationales Automuseum and opened to the public for the first time in July 2023. The purpose-built museum is located between Cologne and Frankfurt in the small town of Dietzhölztal.
While the main collection features hundreds of Formula One cars, Ferraris, Porsches, and more, the team plucked out a select few for a stand-alone timeline exhibition to celebrate a century of racing at the 24 Hours of LeMans.Each car was selected for its Le Mans connection. Some saw Le Mans success. Others failed to finish or served as a back-up car.
The museum is not overflowing with memorabilia or signage. Black walls and ceiling and black flooring beneath the cars keeps the priority and focus on the star attractions. A skylight runs down the middle of the ceiling, bringing in natural light and a kiss of sunshine when the weather permits.
A highlight of the 21 cars is the Team Goh Audi R8 overall Le Mans winner from 2004. Helmets from the trio of drivers (Seiji Ara, Tom Kristensen, and Rinaldo Capello) and the winner’s trophy accompany the winner. In addition to the 2004 Le Mans success, chassis 602 raced at LeMans in 2002 (finishing second) and 2003 (finishing fourth). The car also won at Sebring (on debut in 2002), Petit LeMans, Road America, Mosport and Spa. Other R8 race cars are in private hands, but the museum’s Audi R8 is the only Le Mans winner outside of factory ownership.
An overall Le Mans winning Audi would headline almost any museum display in the world beyond Ingolstadt. Guests, however, get the benefit of two other Audis that came before and after the R8.
One is the 1999 Audi R8C. Sitting on cobblestones simulating a street lined with shop windows, the silver and black prototype greets visitors entering the museum at ground level. Chassis 101 was one of two Audi coupes that helped launch the marque’s dominance at LeMans. It suffered for lack of development time and failed to finish with a broken gearbox.A more promising parallel project with an open-top prototype led to the Audi R8.
Another is the 2012 Audi R18 e-tron quattro that occupies a perch with glass on three sides overlooking the museum entrance. Every visitor sees the Audi coupe as they approach the front door. Chassis 205 finished third overall at Le Mans in 2012 (behind two other Audis) and won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2013.Open doors on both the R18 and R8C allow a comparison and a sense of the evolution in driver cockpits and steering wheel construction.
A Bentley EXP Speed 8 (chassis 002/3) that finished 3rd overall at LeMans in 2001 sits nearby. Bentley leveraged its corporate relationship with Audi and made it happen for a fraction of Audi’s Le Mans budget. Its curves and dark green livery gleams under the lights. Many rank it as one of the most beautiful Le Mans cars.
The Audis are not the only modern-day machines in the museum. Remember the infamous flipping Mercedes in 1999? Two Mercedes CLR chassis went airborne. A third CLR that did not crash was withdrawn from the race and is now part of the museum’s collection. The third of four built in total, the car is long and wide. While it was carefully sculpted for aerodynamic efficiency, the long front and rear bodywork overhangs created instability and drama.
The CLR is not the only Silver Arrow in Dietzhölztal. A 1989 Sauber Mercedes C9 (chassis 88-C9-05) practiced at Le Mans and served as a back-up car. It saw success elsewhere, winning four of five World Sports Prototype Championship races in 1989. The Sauber represents the transition from the 1980s prototypes to the new era of Bentley, Audi, and Mercedes CLR prototypes.
Porsche ruled Le Mans in the 1980s with the 956 and 962. The museum’s 1983 Porsche 956 (chassis 956-009) served as a back-up car at Le Mans in 1985 and 1986. It made history by dominating the 1984 World Championship in the hands of Derek Bell and Stefan Bellof.
Porsche’s first overall victory came courtesy of the 12 cylinder 917. The red and white Salzburg car or the orange and blue Gulf cars are the most well-known, but not the only 917s to run at Le Mans. The museum’s yellow and red Porsche (chassis 917K-021) raced at Le Mans in 1970, but crashed due to rain and a massive tire blowout. (Another 917 carries a similar chassis number but that is a different story.)
Ferrari and Ford claimed most of the headlines in the late 1960s. The museum’s 1966 Ferrari 330 P3/412 P represents that era. Chassis 0844 raced at Le Mans in 1966 and 1967, but engine problems prevented a finish. The car finished third in the famous Ferrari 1-2-3 triumph at the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona and won at Monza and Spa. While the Ferrari required restoration and rebuilding after its racing days were done, its unmistakable shape commands attention. It is easily the most economically valuable specimen in the Le Mans display which makes the absence of ropes or barriers remarkable.
While the prototypes and purpose-built race cars take their share of the spotlight, cars with a closer connection to the street get attention as well. The Porsche 911 in various forms has filled grids across the world for decades, most often in the hands of privateer teams. The museum’s 1994 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR is a rare beast – an original example of only 51 made. The white and red RSR earned a GT2 class win at Le Mans in 1994 with the Larbre Competition team.
On the first floor of the museum, Larbre Competition is also represented with a Dodge Viper (or Chrysler as it was branded in Europe). The team raced the V-10 Viper at Le Mans in 2001 and 2002 and won the 2001 24 Hours of Spa. The curves of the white Viper with road car roots are a sharp contrast to the sharp lines of the Audi R8C prototype parked nearby.
A pair of original and unrestored racers lined up nose to tail to tell their own story of Porsche racing. The silver 1957 Porsche 550 spyder and orange 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS look different, but share the Porsche formula of a four-cylinder engine mounted between the rear axle and driver. The high-revving, lightweight cars were nimble giant killers. Chassis 550-131 raced at Le Mans in 1957 but failed to finish due to ignition issues.
The 904 had more success, with chassis 904-055 placing second in class and eighth overall at Le Mans in 1964 with the Racing Team Holland entry (which explains the orange color). The 904 was also an engineering pivot point for Porsche. Porsche mounted the fiberglass body to a pressed steel box frame instead of the 550 build which bonded the aluminum body to a frame of steel tubes.
In the 1950s, Ferrari raced with some of the prettiest shapes that Maranello ever produced. The museum’s Ferrari 250 Sport Vignale Berlinetta had quite a year in 1952. The V-12 Ferrari (chassis 0156ET)won the famous Mille Miglia race. It set the fastest lap at LeMans before retiring with clutch failure.
Ford may be best known for its Le Mans duels in the 1960s with Ferrari, but the blue oval also ran at Le Mans in the early 1970s. Ford Germany transformed the ordinary Capri coupe into a racing muscle car. The museum’s Ford Capri RS 2600 is one of four that raced at Le Mans in 1972. An oil pressure issue put an end to its race after only 26 laps. The car had potential though a pair took first and second in class and 10th and 11th overall.
The museum’s Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione won the GTS class at Le Mans in 1973 and finished sixth overall. The original and unrestored coupe is the most successful of the five Series III competition Daytonas built. Chassis 16363 was entered by privateer Charles Pozzi SA and driven by Claude Ballot-Lena and Vic Elford to the class victory.
A pair of beautiful Aston Martins represent the storied British marque. A green 1959 Aston Martin DB4 GT Prototype is the forefather of all DB4 GT race cars. Stirling Moss took the car to victory at Silverstone in 1959 in its first race, starting from pole and setting a lap record. While it had promise, it retired at Le Mans in 1959 with an engine bearing failure after only 21 laps. Chassis number DP199/1 references its prototype role as a “Design Project.” There were no others.
The white Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato sitting nearby raced at Le Mans in 1961. It is one of only 19 Zagato-bodied DB4 GTs. Chassis 0180/L came close to a class podium but refused to restart after its final pit stop near the end of the race. The aluminum body is beautiful and the white #1 livery is true to how the car raced at Le Mans.
Jaguar’s sole presence in the line-up is noteworthy – an original and unrestored C-type that finished 9th overall at Le Mans in 1957. Jaguar C-types finished first, second, fourth and ninth. Chassis XKC 011 was mixed with chassis XKC 047 in period, but arguably the only original and unrestored survivor. Minor chips and dents around the nose and headlights show that the car has not been deprived of its hard-earned patina.
A Bentley and Bugatti dig more deeply into Le Mans history and represent the early days of the race. The “Bentley 4 ½ liter” raced at Le Mans in 1928, 1929 and 1931. It is enormous and was driven by Tim Birkin, one of the original “Bentley Boys.” Chassis YV7263 is original and unrestored and proudly shows its Bentley racing green. Difficult to imagine, but most street cars today have more power than the mighty Bentley’s small four-cylinder engine that makes only 110 horsepower.
As a French constructor, Bugatti played a big part in making Le Mans famous. The museum’s Bugatti Type 50 raced in 1931, 1933 and 1934. As with many others in the collection, it is original and unrestored. Chassis 50177 is the sole survivor of three Type 50 cars that raced at Le Mans in 1931.
Each car has a sign with descriptive text and a QR code for more information on your mobile phone or a borrowed tablet from the front desk. And a handful of other gems are scattered throughout the museum. A cut-away Audi R18 shows the tightly packed components under the skin and the driver’s seating position. A Porsche 936 junior kart made for kids sits in front of a wall with racing memorabilia. An engine from a Bugatti EB110 sits near an engine block from a 1937 Bugatti Type 57G – better known as the “tank.”
Do not wait to visit. The temporary Le Mans exhibit runs through the end of February 2024 before making way for a new Ferrari exhibit that opens on March 23.
Find more information on the museum’s website. There is a fee for admission and parking.
