Louwman Museum on tour 2023

2023 was a year in which many of our top pieces were present at special events. During the celebrations of 100 years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 75 years of Goodwood and 70 years of Genevieve. But also during the Strictly Eight, the Gran Premio Nuvolari, the Douro Valley and the Zoute rallies.

100 years 24 hours of Le Mans

This year marked the 100th anniversary of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race. To celebrate this centenary, a special exhibition was held at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum. The exhibition featured 59 winners from the 100 year history of the race, two of which came from our museum. The Lagonda M45R, driven by John Stuart Hindmarsh and Luis Fontes, won in 1935, and the Jaguar D type from Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar, driven by Ron Flockhart and Ivor Bueb, won in 1957. Not only were both cars on display in the Le Mans Museum, they also took an active part in the 100 year Celebration Demo Run on the Circuit de la Sarthe, shortly before the 24 hour race began.

📸 mauricevolmeyer

75 years of motorsport at Goodwood

After the 100 year Le Mans exhibition, the Jaguar D type and the Lagonda M45R went straight back to England. There they had the chance to show what they can do once again at one of the biggest motorsport events in the world, the Goodwood Festival of Speed. During the opening of the four day event, the Duke of Richmond took our Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D Type up the hill, just as he did at the very first festival 30 years ago!

📸 motorsportspictures_bybob

Strictly Eight

At the beginning of September we sent our 1933 Alfa Romeo 8c 2300 Lungo Le Mans to Bavaria in Germany. There this car took part in the Strictly Eight rally. Only 2 types of cars, the Bugatti T43 and Alfa Romeo 8C, were allowed to participate. Both types of cars are equipped with an inline 8 cylinder, supercharged 2300cc engine. The rally covered around 1,000 kilometers of roads that ran over, through or along mountains, lakes and forests on the Deutsche Alpen Strassen.

Nuvolari Grand Prix

In mid September, the Alfa Romeo 6c 1750 Testa Fissa was taken from the museum to Italy to take part in the 33rd edition of the Gran Premio Nuvolari. The rally started in the beautiful city of Mantua, the birthplace of Tazio Nuvolari. After a three day, 1,200 kilometer route via Rimini, the finish was back in Mantua. Unlike last year, the weather was much better, allowing the drivers to fully concentrate on driving the rally. The Testa Fissa, driven by Mrs Louwman, performed brilliantly during the sprints and even won the Coppa Yvette Jolly, Primo Equipaggio Femminile.

The Zoute Rally

The Zoute Rally is a three day rally that starts in Knokke Le Zoute, the fashionable heart of the seaside resort. The rally is held during the Zoute GP, a marvelous world of high end lifestyle and art events with cars at the center of attention. The route, which is kept secret every year, runs through the beautiful Flemish fields and the Dutch polders. Our Aston Martin DB3 Works racing car took part in the regularity class this year and managed to finish the rally without any problems.

📸 car pictures lady

This WayMatters Douro

The Douro valley could just as easily be called the Enchanted Valley because of the beauty and magic of the landscape. The area is not only famous for its vineyards, but also for its magnificent roads. Our Bugatti T43 took part in a 4 day rally in this region. The 94 year old Bugatti with Grand Prix engine turned out to be the perfect match for the winding mountain roads. The supercharged engine climbed every mountain with ease and the 1,000 km rally was completed without any technical problems.

70 years Genevieve

The theme of this years London to Brighton Veteran Car Run was the 70th anniversary of the family film Genevieve. This comic Bafta winning film is about two couples who take part in the London to Brighton Run. They first race from Brighton to London and then back again to Brighton. The two cars driven by the couples are the 1905 Spyker 12-16 HP and the 1904 Darracq 12 HP, called Genevieve. Both cars are part of the Louwman Museum collection. To mark the 70th anniversary, both cars were brought to London to take part in the 127th edition of the run. They had the honor of starting first out of more than 400 entrants. Incidentally, it was the first time in 12 years that the Spyker lined up at the start again. In the months leading up to the run, the Spyker was restored to the original colors from the film. The two famous film cars attracted a lot of attention along the 60 mile route. They finished side by side at the finish on Madeira Drive in Brighton.