Peru
This week I have added a couple of new pages with information on car museums in Southern America. Like the Collección Nicolini in Lima, Peru, a nice museum, started by mr. Nicolini who had a serious passion for classic cars. Over the years he collected some 120 cars, among them an Alfa Romeo 2600 SZ.
Brazilian classic car enthusiasts are going through hard times. Their passion for classics and especially for what they call carros nacionais (‘national cars’, meaning cars produced in Brazil) is clearly there, but it’s not easy to find a museum where they can be admired.
What once was planned as the largest collection of classic cars in Latin America, in the museum owned by the ULBRA University in Canoas, Brazil, had to be sold, due to financial scandals. So the museum is no more. Nevertheless I decided to create a page for the ULBRA museum. When people who heard about the museum would like to know more this page helps to find out what happened.
Brazil
Another Brazilian car museum in need is the Museu Nacional do Automóvel in Brasilia. At this moment the museum is temporarily closed because of a dispute with the local government that demands the buildings of the museum to be ceded for other purposes. I created this page for the Museu Nacional earlier but there are two other new museum pages:
Finally a museum that is accessible, but only after a long travel, the last few kilometers even over an unpaved road; the Museu do Automóvel da Estrada Real in Tiradentes. Inside is a FNM 2000 JK, a locally produced Alfa Romeo 2000, that triumphed in two important races in 1960 and 1961.
Then there is the Museu Eduardo Andre Matarazzo in Bebedouro. Here visitors will see a FNM 2150, an upgrade from the 2000 JK. The cars are in great condition but it must have felt like they were cursed as the museum was hit by a flood twice.
The misfortune for Brazilian classic car museums does not end just here. Soon I will publish a very saddening story about a once great collection, although there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to many Brazilian classic car admiradores.
I already wrote the page for the Museo Fangio in Balcarce, Argentina a couple of weeks ago. Other museums in Latin America will follow in time.
Alfa Romeo in museums 