This is the final installment in a three part series detailing highlights of my visit to the Cussler Museum in Arvado, Colorado. You can read part 1 here for a background of the museum and its collection of American-made cars. Part 2 features the cars described in Mr. Cussler’s Dirk Pitt books. This final post features some of the more interesting European cars in the collection, as well as some of the assorted memorabilia on display at the museum.
Let’s start with a look at some of the lovely European cars in the collection:
1948 Talbot Lago T26
Only 750 of these cars were ever manufactured. A luxurious and fast car.
1930 Duisinberg Model J Arlington Sedan
1947 Tatra Type 87
A beautiful Czech made car with some pioneering features, like a rear-mounted air-cooled engine, independent spring suspension, recessed handles and more.
1951 Talbot Lago T-26 Grand Sport Record
A stream-lined fender-less body, an interesting specimen. It was owned by King Farouk, the last monarch of Egypt.
1939 Rolls Royce Wraith
Total production was less than 500 cars.
1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III Town car
An elegantly and stately car. It was said that no one owned a Rolls Royce who didn’t also have a chauffeur. Total of 727 were made.
1928 Isotta Fraschino Tipo 8A S Boattail Speedster
A powerful speedster capable of 110 mph speeds. There are only 2 examples of this vehicle still known to exist.
1939 Mercedes Benz 540K
The museum also displays a NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency) survey boat. The hero of Mr. Cussler’s novels, Dirk Pitt, worked for NUMA and Mr. Cussler was fascinated by marine sciences.
The museum has assorted car-related memorable scattered throughout the exhibition space, including some vintage gas pumps and other old garage equipment….
….and some historic neon car signage.
I’ve visited a lot of car museums in my life and I thought the Cussler Museum had among the finest and most diverse collections I’ve seen anywhere. It’s most definitely worth a half day of your time to find and explore it if you when in the Denver area if, like me, you love seeing those beautiful old cars.
Awe-inspiring collection!
Those are absolutely gorgeous cars, most of them, and I always find myself wishing I could drive some of them. But, of course, I have to console myself with the thought that my car today is likely more reliable, keeps me warmer… I might almost talk myself out of it!
Having just picked up a brand-new hire car, I am longing for the era when cars did not have any electronic ‘assistance’ features.
Great post!
Thanks all for your comments!
My youngest son recently asked me when I became interested in old cars and I told him it was when they started making all cars ugly. They may have nice features to make our ride more comfortable, but we’ve lost something..