Qatar’s car culture celebration
New exhibition is just a preview of the Gulf state’s spectacular plans
There have always been less-explored corners of the classic car world, where long-lost cars turn up after decades or hangars full of exotics are tantalisingly spotted and occasionally snapped. South America, Cuba and others have all had their moments, but nowhere has this happened more consistently than in the Middle East, where oil-rich collectors hoovered-up rarities and one-offs. However, while there is an unquantifiable amount still to discover, the Middle Eastern classic world is opening up. In recent years there have been major concours in Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia, while museums have opened in Sharjah (UAE), Abu Dhabi and Jordan. There’s also Iran’s Historical Car Museum and its display of cars owned by the former royal family before its ousting in 1979. Now a major new exhibition in Qatar is heralding the opening of an official motoring museum in the peninsula state.
An exhibition to preview the opening, titled A Sneak Peek at Qatar Auto Museum Project, has itself opened at the National Museum of Qatar in the capital, Doha. The impressive selection of cars ranges from a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO to a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Outlaw 10.5 customised by Jerry Bickel. There are only a few pre-war cars – a 1949 Delahaye 175 S Roadster, a 1939 Pontiac Plexiglas Deluxe Six ‘Ghost Car’ and a 1939 Jeep – but half the 28 exhibits are American. Others include a 1955 Gullwing, a 1951 Bedford pick-up and a BMW 502. Three of the cars are from Qatar Museum’s collection, while the others are on loan from members of the Qatar Auto Museum advisory board and local enthusiasts.
It is expected that most of the cars in the exhibition – which runs until January 2023 – will make up the core of the new Qatar Auto Museum, which has been designed by Pritzker prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas.
It will be located in the former exhibition centre that hosted the first Qatar Motor Show in 2011, and works will start once the FIFA World Cup, to take place in Qatar in November and December, is over. The 30,000m2 museum will include permanent galleries tracking the evolution of the car and, in particular, how it has influenced culture in Qatar. There will also be temporary exhibition spaces for additional special vehicles, an ‘edutainment’ centre, a kids’ zone with driving simulators, ‘mini’ car mechanics and driving areas, plus workshops.
Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, said: ‘From sporting events like Formula 1 races to classic car shows, car culture has an expansive presence in Qatar. We are thrilled to present this exhibition, which reflects our passions as auto enthusiasts, during a year when so many visitors will come to Doha to celebrate the World Cup. The exhibition showcases our culture while introducing an exciting new institution dedicated to providing an inspiring educational and technological experience for all. Qatar Auto Museum will serve as an innovative community hub for auto enthusiasts, students, collectors, engineers and all who appreciate the impact on our world of the emergence and evolution of the automobile.’ Her Excellency Dr Hessa Al Jaber, Qatar Auto Museum President, added: ‘In modern history, very few inventions have impacted everyday life and the broader culture as powerfully and pervasively as the automobile.
The Qatar Auto Museum will be a showplace for our unsurpassed collection and, like all Qatar Museums institutions, will spark innovation, creativity, dialogue and community.’
‘THERE IS MUCH STILL TO DISCOVER, BUT THE MIDDLE EAST’S CLASSIC WORLD IS OPENING UP’