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For the most part, an insight into the incredible collection of French-made automobiles ambaded by a longtime enthusiast, Peter Mullin, remains a rare opportunity. Open only two days a month to the general public, the Mullin Automotive Museum, located in Oxnard, California, is home to some of the most beautiful vehicles ever built, cars more reminiscent of sculpture than transportation.
But next month, some of Mullin's safe gems will be unveiled to the public, while half a dozen favorites will travel to Northern California to be showcased during the annual week of the car, which includes the legendary Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and The Quail, a motor sports rally.
"The cars we have chosen all have a special story and none are widely known," says Mullin. "In the end, I'm always looking for things that make my heart beat, so maybe they'll do the same for others."
1950 Talbot-Lago-Type-26-Grand Prix
Photo of Michael Furman, courtesy of the Mullin Automotive Museum.
All essentially pre-war cars heading to the region – two Talbot-Lagos, one Talbot, two Bugattis and one Delahaye – occupy a special place in the heart of Mullin, but this one sits in the heart of Mullin. Brighten to another level when asked to talk about one of two Talbot – Lago race cars that will appear on the Lagoon Seca WeatherTech Raceway corkscrew curves.
The 1936 Talbot-Lago Type 26 SS Roadster.
Photo of Michael Furman, courtesy of the Mullin Automotive Museum.
"When I get in this car [a 1936 Talbot-Lago Type 26 SS Roadster with body by Figoni and Falaschi] knowing that the big [French racer] Rene Dreyfus had driven it, it happened to me a lot in the head, "says Mullin, who will drive this famous four-wheel drive on the track. "When I met him, he described the races he won with this car. He could play it turn-based, half a century later. And it always stays with me.
Mullin's other competitor on the track that day will be an incredibly elegant 1950 Talbot-Lago Type 26 Grand Prix, a vehicle that is regularly used at historic races around the world.
Guests at The Quail, a motor sport rally will be able to see Mullin 1931's Bugatti Type 49. Its noteworthy features include the latest appearance of the vertical single-valve and vertical valve engine, but that's the alluring bodywork Four-door Gangloff makes the car stand out in a crowd.
The Bugatti Type 49.
Photo of Michael Furman, courtesy of the Mullin Automotive Museum.
Finally, visitors to the prestigious 18th green and fairway at Pebble Beach Golf Club will discover three examples that, as Mullin puts it, "exemplify the mix of performance, engineering and design that makes these cars so special."
These include a 1939 Aravis Bugatti Type 57C, a 1929 Talbot M75 Million Guiet Coupe and a 1915 Delahaye Type 145 Chapron Coupe.
The Talbot M75 Million Guiet 1929.
Photo of Michael Furman, courtesy of the Mullin Automotive Museum.
Mullin explains that the Delahaye captured him, in particular, because "when you look at the elegant style of the coupe on a racing chbadis, with those lines for which Chapron was famous, it's impossible not to be blown away."
The 1937 Delahaye Type 145.
Photo of Michael Furman, courtesy of the Mullin Automotive Museum.
The Bugatti Type 57C of course also has a story. Mullin explains that the car was built by Jean Bugatti for the driver Maurice Trintignant. "Maurice has long been the best driver for the factory racing team. Bugatti himself was delighted by the appearance of this car. So it was hard to ignore, "Mullin says. In fact, once the car was acquired, Mullin took the very elderly Trintignant and his wife from France to help oversee a restoration.
The 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Aravis.
Photo of Michael Furman, courtesy of the Mullin Automotive Museum.
"They stayed with us, and the contract was that I would bring him to Pebble and he would help me decide which color scheme was right for this car originally," Mullin said. "It may have been decades later for him, but he had that incredible ability to recall the colors in his head to get us to the car you'll see up there. It has not been at Pebble for 15 years, and never in its true final configuration. "
As if car enthusiasts really needed another excuse to travel to Pebble Beach next month, here are six other courtesies from one of the largest French auto art collectors on the planet.
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