Lane Motor Museum

Lane Motor Museum by John Lamm

Automobile museums are often known for one particular variety of cars. It could be race cars. American iron. German machines. A Musée de l’Automobile featuring French cars. At the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville the defining word is eclectic.

1965 Matra D’Jet 5-Just one of the many French cars in the Lane Motor Museum, this one came to be when the aeronautical and armaments firm, Matra, took over Rene Bonnet’s car company. A mid-engine fiberglass coupe, the drivetrain features a 79-horsepower, Gordini-tuned 1108-cc Renault engine.

1924 Sima-Voilet-The Sima-Violet cyclecar has a front engine and rear drive, and is powered by a 2-cylinder, air-cooled 2-stroke engine and a 2-speed transmission. It’s unknown how many were built, but a 1.5-liter flat-4 version finished 3rd in the 1926 Boulogne Grand prix.

1933 Panhard-Levassor 6 DS RL-From one of the originators of the automobile, this Panhard-Levassor was bought in 1933 for (in today’s dollars) $2700. Originally built with 4.1-liter inline-6 sleeve-valve engine, that was replaced with a 4.8-liter version. The automaker built 131 6 DS RL models.

There will no doubt be a few vehicles in Lane’s 150-car display you will recognize. Then again, many will leave you glued to the well-written description plaques after having likely muttered something like, “What the heck is that?”

How about the 1928 Martin Aerodynamic? A Hewson Rocket? Or the Georges Irat 11CV? The goggle-eyed Messerschmitt looks downright common. As does a pair of Citroën 2CVs.

You can get a look at the collection plus information about hours of operation and directions at www.LaneMuseum.org. But really, wouldn’t you rather see the

Autonacional Biscuter or Baldi Frog for real? So the next time you’re in Nashville, between the music and barbecues and before the honky tonks, try the Lane. We guarantee you will come away smiling.

Click to visit Lane Museum

1932 Helicron-A one-off built in France, it was hidden in a barn until 2000. Now restored, the propeller-driven “car” originally had a horizontally opposed two-cylinder engine.

(Top) 1948 Davis Divan-Glenn Gordon “Gary” Davis thought he had the answer to a perceived public need for a 3-wheel economy car. Davis had dealerships and took in funds, but it all ended up in court, with Davis in prison. (Left) 1962 Citroën 2CV 4x4 Sahara-We have a twin-engine Citroën 2CV in the Revs Collier Collection and there is also one in the Lane next to a standard 2CV, just two of the many Citroëns in the collection. (Right) 1946 Hewson Rocket-Apparently William Hewson wanted to create his Rocket and sell it for $1,000. It was meant to be aerodynamic--no body projections--and the prototype was built by Coachcraft in Hollywood. Power was from an 85-hp Ford flathead V-8 and the top speed said to be 90 mph. But Hewson’s money ran out and this one-off is all that remains of his dream.

1950 Martin Stationette and 1928 Martin Aerodynamic car-Martin’s Stationette was meant to be a $995 commuter car, “America’s economy car of the future.” It has a rear engine and rear drive using a 65-cubic-inch 4-cylinder Hercules engine. In the background is the Martin Aerodynamic car, a 4-seat vehicle shaped for optimum aerodynamics. The body is aluminum and has just one door, which leads to the back seat.

1970 Citroën M-35-Felix Wankel’s rotary engine was considered the powerplant of the future in the late 1960s. So Citroën created the M-35 with a single-rotor, 49-horsepower version. Plans called for 500 to be built, but as with all automakers save Mazda the rotary was a short-lived project and only 267 M-35s were assembled.

1947 Tatra T-87 Saloon-Among the many Czechoslovakian Tatras at the Lane is this T-87 which, of course, has a rear engine and rear drive. Built from 1936 to 1950, the T-87’s 2968-cc V-8 had 75-horsepower and the automaker’s now-classic aero shape.

1991 Nissan S-Cargo-Using the Citroën 2CV Fourgonnette delivery van as an inspiration, Nissan designed the S-Cargo (get it?) as one of a trio of retro-inspired cars first shown at the 1988 Tokyo Motor Show. Snicker if you want, but it’s cool.

1929 BMW “Ihle 600”-This little beauty has a BMW Dixi chassis fitted with a lightweight, all-steel body created by Ihle in Germany. The Dixi 747-cc four had 13 horsepower and would propel the sports car to 50 mph

1938 Citroën Berline 11 Gazogene-A coal-fired car? When gasoline became difficult to get during World War II, cars were converted to run on coal gas. This Citroën’s fenders are bulged because one is filled with coal that is ignited. This created methane gas that was condensed and filtered through a cylinder in the other fender and that fed a special carburetor to power the car. Range of a load of coal? About 30 miles.

1940 Georges Irat 11CV-Some 200 of these French Irat 11CVs were built before World War II. The cars are front-wheel drive using the 11CV driveline from Citroën.

1953 Rovin D4-After World War II the French government promoted the production of economy cars. Robert and Raul de Rovin created a small series of such machines and that included the D4. Launched in 1950, the car had a 462-cc 2-cylinder 13-horsepower engine and a top speed of 53 mph. A total of 1203 were produced.

1951 Hoffmann-Saving the best for last. Michael Hoffmann in Munich devised this little beauty. It is a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, rear-steer three wheeler. Any guesses why it never caught on? The Hoffmann’s handling has been described as that of, “a drunk leaving a hotel bar.”

Appreciate

Made with Adobe Slate

Make your words and images move.

Get Slate

Lane Motor Museum by John Lamm

Report Abuse