Peter Mullin's Glorious Mullin Automotive Museum Is Closing; We Make One Last Visit (2024)

Little remains of this 1925 Bugatti Type 22 Brescia roadster. Originally owned by René Dreyfus, a successful prewar French racing driver, the car was won by a Swiss playboy named Adalbert Bodé in a Paris poker game in 1934. By the time he headed home, Bodé was out of cash. Unable to pay customs on the car at the Swiss border, he was forced to abandon the Bugatti.

The car sat for years, with local law eventually requiring Swiss officials to destroy it. They pushed it into a nearby lake, and chains meant to make it easily retrievable later broke, with the Bugatti coming to rest 173 feet underwater. The popular diving attraction may have stayed there forever, but a local tragedy in 2009 prompted its retrieval and auction for charity, giving us a unique look into how over 70 years of water erosion affect a car.

A woody wagon was not what we expected to see at the Mullin. This 1937 Hispano-Suiza K6 "Break de Chasse" is a one-off conversion completed by French coachbuilder Franay in 1948. The wood is all original, but restoring the cabin was a challenge. The original upholstery had used water buffalo skin, and the restoration reportedly required traveling to Pakistan, acquiring eight water buffalos, and having them skinned there since the export of of live water buffalos was illegal.

The swoopy styling of this globetrotting 1937 Delahaye Type 135 M cabriolet instantly caught our eye. In 1939 the car was shipped to Bombay (now Mumbai) in India by a businessman, where it was subsequently sold to a prince. The car was rediscovered in 1982, wasting away on a set of wooden blocks in a shed in the city of Jodhpur, and was subsequently restored.

The long hood houses a 130-hp 3.6-liter inline-six engine, but the real highlight is the Figoni et Falaschi bodywork. The distinctive outboard front fenders are accentuated by the character line that echoes their curvature on the main body, as well as the curlicue painted on the bottom of the fenders.

Most cars at the Mullin are squeaky clean, but the Schlumpf Reserve Collection has been preserved in its dilapidated condition. The group of prewar Bugattis were the possessions of textile magnates Fritz and Hans Schlumpf, who accumulated roughly 450 cars over two decades. But the Schlumpfs' business went bankrupt, and the brothers fled to Switzerland as labor unions went on strike.

The collection was seized by the French government and stored in a barn, where the cars fell into disrepair and were picked apart by parts scavengers. When Peter Mullin purchased a majority of the collection, he left the cars unrestored, allowing viewers to see the beauties that would normally gleam at car shows in a new light.

This Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante is a time traveler. While the Type 57's lifespan technically lasted from 1934 to 1940, this chassis was built in 1949 using extra parts that had survived World War II, making it the last Type 57 built. The 3.3-liter straight-eight was later upgraded with a supercharger, and the Atalante sports a striking red and black paint job.

While most cars in the Mullin collection hail from France, this Tatra is the product of Czechia. The Type 87 was among the first cars designed with a specific focus on aerodynamics. It housed its air-cooled 3.0-liter V-8 engine behind the cabin, necessitating the gaping air inlets protruding behind the rear windows. The centrally mounted third headlight adds to the unique look. Just over 3000 were built. Type 87 could hit 100 mph and became known as an excellent autobahn cruiser, but it also earned the nickname "Czech Secret Weapon" after reports of Nazi officers dying in high speed crashes thanks to the Tatra's unpredictable oversteer, a consequence of the rear-engine layout. Mullin told Architectural Digest that he made the exception for the Tatra because of its incredible Art Deco styling and its anti-Nazi driving dynamics.

This sleek 1932 Bugatti Type 55 is one of 38 built over a four-year span. Styled by 23-year-old Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore, the Type 55 was an evolution of the Type 51 race car and featured a supercharged 2.3-liter straight-eight engine routing 129 horsepower through a four-speed manual. This Type 55 entered the 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans but crashed out 10 hours in. It received the body it currently wears in the 1950s. The stories of how these cars were built and rebodied after damage, or sometimes just as trends changed, is one of the more fascinating parts of coachbuilt collecting.

In 1937, the French government offered a one-million-franc prize for the winner of a time trial race in an attempt to encourage French carmakers to outdo the Germans. Delahaye built this Type 145 race car, powered by a 225-hp V-12. Over 16 laps, the aforementioned René Dreyfus piloted the Delahaye to an average speed of 91 mph, winning the Grand Prix du Million. The car took three more Grand Prix wins and a fourth place at the Mille Miglia before the onset of World War II.

We saw this 1935 Avions Voisin Type C25 Aérodyne at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance last year, but it's always exciting to catch another glimpse of this imposing Art Deco beast. When it was revealed, the Aérodyne's streamlined bodywork was quite a futuristic look, standing out thanks to its sloping roofline, chrome fender support struts, and automated retracting roof.

Power came from a 3.0-liter inline-six, and of the 28 C25s assembled, just six sported the Aérodyne look. The cabin continues the snazzy style with an unusual patterned upholstery that feels like an optical illusion. We often found ourselves surprised by details like this interior, which feels so modern for a car from 1935.

This sleek Bugatti blends new and old. Only one full Type 64 was built before Jean Bugatti was killed in a car crash, and this car's chassis sat unfinished until acquired by Peter Mullin in 2003. Mullin wanted to cloak the duralumin (a lightweight aluminum alloy used in airplanes at the time) chassis and straight-eight engine in a new body, and he enlisted Stewart Reed, head of the transportation department at Art Center College of Design at the time, to come up with a suitable design.

Reed's students created a series proposals before teaming up with Automobile Metal Shaping Company to craft the dramatic bodywork. The naked aluminum body was shaped around a wooden buck, just as it would've been done in period. The design was meant to evoke something Jean Bugatti might have penned himself. Bugatti had experimented with building an airplane in the late 1930s, inspiring the exposed rivets and acrylic windows.

The oldest car on display was this Panhard et Levassor from 1902. The 1890s and early 1900s was a time of wild experimentation, but this Type B1 was among the first cars to feature what the company called "Système Panhard," meaning a front-mounted engine with rear-wheel drive and a simple sliding-gear transmission. This would go on to become the standard vehicle setup for the ensuing century. We were especially charmed by the little leather sling designed to perfectly hold the starting crank. You can see it just below the right headlight.

This 1937 Peugeot 302DS Darl’Mat Cabriolet was a factory-backed hot rod. Émile Darl'mat, one of the largest Peugeot dealers, had been souping up every car he sold before eventually winning Peugeot over. The company created a special assembly line in 1936, and Darl'mat signed coachbuilder Pourtout to craft the curvaceous bodies.

Three of Darl'mat's upgraded Peugeots raced at Le Mans in 1937, all finishing in the top 10, before securing a class victory and a fifth place overall the next year. This cabriolet didn't race, but is one of 27 examples that still exist. The 302DS is a beautiful machine, and we especially love the way the triangular license plate holder fits into the curves of the bodywork.