Want to tour some of the best automotive museums in the world? Head to Germany, where several of the industry’s foremost automakers are based. Now there’s another one to add to the list, but while it’s situated in Germany, this one’s dedicated to a Japanese manufacturer.
Frey’s Mazda Classic Car Museum is the first such collection to open its doors outside of Japan. It’s located in Augsburg, a city in Bavaria situated in between Stuttgart (home of Mercedes and Porsche) and Munich (where BMW is based).
Though located five hours away from Mazda’s European headquarters in Leverkusen (closer the Düsseldorf) and nearly four from its R&D center in Oberursel, Augsburg is where you’ll find Auto Frey – which (in addition to selling Peugeots) has been one of Europe’s largest Mazda dealers for decades. The museum is a joint venture between the manufacturer and the Frey family (which has loaned several of the vehicles from its own private collection).
Among those cars on display are a 1960 R360 (Mazda’s first mass-produced passenger car), a 1976 616 (the first model officially offered in Germany), a ’66 Familia 1000 coupe, a tiny mid-engined Autozam AZ-1, a K360 three-wheeled light truck, and an array of rotary-powered sports cars, from the ’67 Cosmo Sport through the ’69 Luce RX87 to the ’92 RX-7.
All told, there’s 45 vehicles housed in a repurposed tram depot that dates back to 1897, which also includes an event hall, restaurant, and gift shop. For fans of the quirky Japanese automaker – especially those who can’t make it all the way to Japan – it strikes us as a site not to be missed.
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