Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

GEMS IN THE GARDEN OF FRANCE

MUSÉEDE L’AUTOMOBILEDEVALENÇAYCLASSIC SHRINES

Locatedtowardsthe easternend of

the LoireValley, Valençayis best

knownfor its fineRenaissance

château,but the Muséede l’Auto-

mobile,justa few minutes’walk

away, has someGallictreasuresof

its own.Themuseumwas estab-

lishedin 1964by brothersCamille

andAndréGuignardin nearby

Vatan, theirfatherhavingopeneda

garagetherein 1910.Thefacility

movedto Valençayin 1981and to

its presentsite,an airyformer

supermarket,20 yearslater.

Thelayoutof the exhibitionwas

redesignedfor 2015,givingvisitors

a betterviewof the collection.The

vehicleson showare nowgrouped

by makeand thenby date,makingit

easyto followthe evolutionof a

company. Post-warRenaults,for

example, progress from the rear-

engined4CV, OndineandR8 to

the Frégateand pioneeringR16.

Notsurprisingly, home-grown

marquesdominate,withsome 60

carson permanentdisplay. Nearly

all are in runningorderand many

are in goodbut unrestoredoriginal

condition.Thereare dedicated

areasfor classicmotorcyclesand

fire engines,the latteralwayspopu-

larwiththe Frenchpublic.

Numerousshowcasesaroundthe

buildinghouseperiodpartsand

posters,and there’s a smallcinema

showinghistoricmotoringfilms.

Oneof Valençay’s strengthsis its

impressivearrayof carsfromthe

earlyyearsof motoring,beginning

withan 1898Panhardet Levassor

Ty pe 5. Nearby, you can marvelat a

1906 Clément-Bayardthathas

covered200,000milesand a 1912

Delaunay-BellevilleK6 thatwas

driven from North Cape to The

Caucasusin 1967. AnotherDelau-

nay-Bellevillenextto it servedas an

officers’car alongsidethe famous

December 2015 Classic&SportsCar 55

The knowledge

Address12 Avenue

de la Résistance, 36600

Valençay,France

Where?Between the château

and railwaystationin Valençay

How much?Adults€5.50,

concessions€4.50,children

seven-17 €3.50,specialrates

for familiesand groups

OpeninghoursOpendailyfrom

the end of Marchto 15 November,

10:30am-12:30pmand 2-6pm

(extendedafternoonopening

hoursfromJune-August)

Tel 0033 254 00 07 74

Webwww.musee-auto-valencay.fr

taxisde la Marnein 1914, while the

impressiveRenaultVI limousine

carriedformerFrenchPresidents

Poincaréand Millerand.

Themuseum’s exhibitsalso

include lesser-knownmakessuch

as Le ZèbreandTu rcat-Méry,

whilethe curator, JérômeLemay,

is especiallyproudof a 1928Suère

camionnettethathas recentlybeen

completelyrestored.

Thegoldeninter-waryearsare

wellrepresentedby a 1936Bugatti

Ty pe 57 Stelviowithbodyworkby

Swiss coachbuilder Gangloff. One

of only13 built,it is believedthat

just two are left in Francebut the

car is still drivenregularly.

Post-warmodelsincludethe

Clockwise,fromtop:

Panhardline-upincludes

Juniorand DynaX; R8

Gordini;well-travelled

Clément-Bayard; 1898

Panhardet Levassor;

RenaultHK1;matching

Delaunay-Belleville HH6

pair; gorgeousBugattiT57

inevitable2CVand Tr actionAvant,

plusone of Citroën’s quirkyAmi-

basedrotary-enginedM35proto-

types.In additionto the permanent

exhibits,Valençayhostsa special

displayeachyear, Gordinibeing

the marqueof honourin 2015.

Clubsare especially welcometo

visit,therebeingamplesecurepark-

ing for classics,whilean informal

meetingis heldfor all enthusiasts

on the firstSundayof eachmonth

fromAprilto November. Thereis

also a well-establishedautojumble

on the first Sundayin June.

Familiescanbuya combined

ticketfor the museumand château,

the latterlayingon toursby candle-

lightplus asonet lumièreshowin the

summer.JulianJulian ParishParish