Yes, China has car museums, and they are massive

If a collector car market does not really exist in China today, it certainly did not exist just over a decade ago when we paid a visit to the Shanghai Auto Museum. One of about a dozen museums in the country at the time but the first purpose-built one, the museum opened just over a year ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Unlike the majority of cars museums in China today, the museum is not a part of a larger car plant even though it is located in a vast area known as Shanghai International Automobile City. And like a lot of public works projects created by Chinese province and city governments, it is located outside of the city in what was an agricultural area just a couple of years prior. This meant a one-hour cab ride from the center of Shanghai (population: 24 million) to an area of empty fields that were rapidly being transformed from farmland to a semi-industrial area gently melding with other industrial areas. That is to say that at the time, the museum was not shown on our taxi driver's maps because a lot of the roads were not there just months prior.

As you may have guessed by now, all of these factors meant that we were the only visitors to the museum at the time and one of just a handful throughout the day, which is not a huge surprise in a country known for impressive architectural projects that sometimes tend to sit empty. This meant that we had the whole museum to ourselves — and a feeling that we were visiting someone's car collection.
 

The museum's collection at the time was certainly eclectic and felt like it was put together from several different car museum collections from across the globe. The cars' placards admitted as much: The museum displayed vehicles on loan from foreign automakers, which included a significant number of milestone cars — the first and the last cars off the assembly line — the kind that get a big decal and a party with balloons and dignitaries once they roll off the assembly line. This gave the collection the flavor of an exhibition of industrial achievements.

The second biggest group of cars in the collection were prototypes on loan from automaker collections around the globe — various electric and hydrogen cars that were 20 years too early, or display cars from auto shows from a decade ago. A number of exotics, including rare coachbuilt cars and a light helping of American muscle rounded out the collection.

We've rounded up a few to give you a snapshot of the collection at the time.

1959 Hongqi CA72

One of China's longest-running marques, the Hongqi (pronounced Hong-chi) which translates to "Red Flag" limos were among the first passenger cars engineered and designed in China. Meant for party officials, the Hongqi was styled after the Russian GAZ 21 Volga sedan, which itself was styled after the Ford Mainline of the early 1950s. It was an interesting journey when it comes to design, but at the end is a clearly American influence. Hongqi scaled up the GAZ 21 proportions to the size of a four-door limo, whose profile was reminiscent of a ZiL 111. Inside, luxury often meant velour on just about every surface. Hongqi cars make up a disproportionate number of preserved early postwar automobiles, due to the fact that they were maintained by the government.

1996 GM EV-1

One of GM's EV-1 electric cars that weren't crushed made a temporary home in Shanghai. Just over 1,100 were produced between 1996 and 1999, when GM leased these to customers. The car offered a range of 80 to 100 miles on a full charge. An interesting experiment that much has been written about, the EV didn't quite pave the way for the Volt or the Bolt, but it did demonstrate the viability of electric cars at the time, even if each example cost GM about $250,000. The film "Who Killed the Electric Car" about the EV-1 may have lost some of its relevance now — electric cars are alive and well — but it does open a curious window into GM decisionmaking at the time.

1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 SS

One of several slightly different versions of the same general design handbuilt by Ghia on an Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint chassis, this coupe from 1954 is one of about 12 examples produced. Its inclusion in the museum is perhaps incidental — likely on loan from another automaker's collection. What appears to be an identical example (it could very well be the same one) sold for $330,000 in 2014 at RM Sotheby's Monterey auction.

2000 BMW 750hL

Firmly in the category of vehicles on loan from manufacturers, the BMW 750hL occupied a prominent spot on the museum's first floor incline walkway. Based on a late version of the E38 7-Series, a fleet of these were produced for the EXPO 2000 in Germany.

"Running on hydrogen, the 12-cylinder engine delivers 204 hp and accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h in 9.6 seconds, while achieving a top speed of 226 km/h," BMW said at the time of its debut. "Fitted with the 140 liter Cryo fuel tank, the fully equipped 7-Series has an additional range of 350 kilometers. The car features a conventional fuel supply too since the availability of hydrogen fuel is limited."

Not a completely dead-end concept, the E38 version of BMW hydrogen tech paved the way for a limited 100-car production run of the next-gen E65 7-Series, which was leased from 2005 till 2007. Given BMW's focus on electric cars today, it's difficult to picture Munich pouring more money into yet another limited production run, in case you're still itching for a hydrogen-fueled BMW.

1958 Citroen 2CV

We're sure that everyone (especially Jeff Lane) will agree that a car museum is not complete without a Citroen 2CV, and we're pleased to report that the Shanghai auto museum had one such example on display. In production from 1948 until 1990, the 2CV was designed as affordable countryside transportation in the lean postwar years of Western Europe. Equipped with a very articulated suspension system and simple controls, the 2CV is one the most recognized postcard classics of France, challenged only by the plush-riding Citroen DS that debuted a few years later. French automakers took an interest in China relatively late, in the 2000s, so the 2CV is a car that China never had — private vehicle ownership was a rarity during its years of production.

1999 Volkswagen Lupo 3L TDI

A model positioned below the Polo, which is positioned below the Golf, the Lupo of the 1990s offered a very compact exterior along with a very compact interior. The 3L TDI model was aimed at consuming just 3 liters of diesel fuel for every 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, effectively achieving 94 mpg. Powered by 1.2-liter three-cylinder turbocharged and direct-injected engine, the Lupo features a start/stop system, which was a novelty back in the 1990s. The Lupo was produced from 1998 until 2005 but was never sold in China, even as private car ownership was just taking off. VW had built the Santana sedan in China since 1983 and had updated it over the years, effectively being one of the first foreign automakers to operate in the country. (The placard in the photo says 1996, but the 3L actually debuted in 1999).

1958 Fiat 500

As much as the Citroen 2CV above is a postcard car for France, the pocket-size Fiat 500 is a postcard car for Italy. The Cinquecento debuted in 1957 and stayed in production until 1975, influencing more than just Fiat's lineup in the process. The car celebrated its 50th anniversary just two years ago, and the current 500, despite being a good deal larger than the original, is a testament to the versatility and appeal of its design.

Like the 2CV, the Fiat 500 is a car that China never had, and seeing this example in the Shanghai museum made us wonder how many examples could actually be in the country itself. We wouldn't be surprised if it's only a couple of dozen at the most, spread among other museums and perhaps a couple of collections.
 

1961 Mercedes-Benz 300D

The W169 model 300 was the forerunner of the S-Class of today, and is better known as the Adenauer, nicknamed for Konrad Adenauer who was the chancellor of West Germany. These handbuilt cars were the most opulent German cars of the day, and just over 3,000 examples were produced. China's leadership did own a few Pullman models later on, but the Adenauer would have been a rare sight in Beijing back when it was still in production or shortly thereafter — perhaps only the German ambassador would have had one. This particular car was used by General Lucius Cay, who was the military governor of West Germany. In Shanghai, this car appears to have been on loan from the Blackhawk auto museum.

Even though the Shanghai Auto Museum was filled with cars that were not Chinese during the period of the Beijing Games and shortly thereafter, we know that the mix of cars has changed pretty significantly in the years since, as the museum gained a number of Chinese cars from decades past.

Back in 2008 car restoration in China was not even a cottage industry, and the preservation of cars produced in the country in decades past was not a practice; aside from the elite Hongqi models many cars were simply used up and recycled. You won't find decades-old sedans in someone's back yard in the countryside, as all metal tends to be recycled, no matter how small a piece. Perhaps as China gains a car collector community in the future — there is certainly a lot of cars and a lot of money in the country today — the preservation of classic Chinese cars will take off.

If you're in town, give the Shanghai Auto Museum a visit.
 

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