An Amazing Collection Of Historic Vehicles In Qatar
Images: Gautam Sen
Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani began by selling car parts when he was just 16 years old. Less than six decades later, Sheikh Faisal has a car collection that is well over a thousand!
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In fact, in his museum—the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum—which is located some 20km from Doha (in Qatar), there are more than 30,000 items there; while the cars and trucks are a significant section of the museum, they are just one part of the vast 530,000 square meters of space across three buildings and 15 halls.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/2-A-whole-bunch-of-Ford-pick-ups.jpg)
The artefacts include Islamic art, coins and currencies, tapestries and carpets, several copies of the Koran, arms, and armaments, as well as automobiles. In a recent visit, yours truly had little time for the rest, and only managed to take a quick look at the 300-odd vehicles on display in one of the larger halls of the museum.
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Is there a theme to the collection? Not really. Is there a method to this madness? Perhaps. But yes, there is a preponderance of American cars over the ones from other parts of the world. And yes, there are a whole lot of light and medium heavy trucks, pick-ups and 4x4s, the kind of vehicles that must have been the typical car parc of Qatar until a few years ago.
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The display is fairly straightforward, with most of the cars lined up in rows, without necessarily following any order. In fact, there is a whole row of cars stacked on a second level. The more important ones, as well as some of the thematic displays are grouped together, along with some standalone wonders.
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As soon as one enters, on the left is a long row of mostly American automobiles from the flamboyant Fifties, resplendent in their bright shades and shining chrome. On the right, a bit further ahead is an almost new Subaru Impreza, with which the redoubtable Nasser al-Attiyah won several rallies in Asia.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/6a-The-Peugeot-402-Roadster-with-unidentified-coachwork.jpg)
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Moving ahead, on the left is another long line of Americans, amidst carriages and horse-related paraphernalia. Into the second part of the automotive museum, the atmosphere changes, as this is a more recent addition, readied just before the Soccer World Cup last year, and opened to the public during the championship.
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Though one did not get down to counting, apparently hundreds of vehicles are on display. Some have explanatory plaques (although the years were wrong on a few), many didn’t. On one side a bunch of rally cars are on display and amongst them is the Mitsubishi Lancer with which Nasser al-Attiyah began his rallying career.
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On the right the car that draws most attention is a very stylish black-and-silver roadster, which turns out to be a Peugeot 402 Roadster from the late 1930s, with unidentified coachwork. Flamboyant and flowing, the Peugeot’s provenance remained a mystery.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/9a-Two-more-stylish-Americans-a-1941-Cadillac-Club-Coupe-and.jpg)
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/9b-a-Packard-Super-Eight-Convertible.jpg)
But next to it is a bunch of fascinating veterans, including an electric Studebaker from 1908, a Mercury truck (nothing to do with the Ford Motors sub-brand), and a Benz Ideal runabout from 1900. Not too far away a beautiful Chrysler Dual Cowl Phaeton from 1933 has been given pride of place.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/10-There-were-several-European-cars-too-with-three-Britishers-here---a-Daimler-DS420-limousine-alongside-two-Rolls-Royces.jpg)
Five metres away, tucked into a corner is a bunch of scooters and motorcycles, both historic and modern, with a bright yellow bug fronting them. That bug is a very rare Mival KR 175 (also referred to as the Mivalino), which was the Messerschmitt bubble car built under licence in Italy (by Mi-Val).
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/11a-When-you-have-rows-and-rows-of-veterans.jpg)
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In fact, Italian small cars get their own corner where several tiny Fiats such as a 500, a couple of Multiplas, and a Topolino woodie wagon jostle for space with an Isetta and a Ghia-bodied Fiat 600 Jolly beach car.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/12-A-small-Italian-corner-was-this-one-with-several-Fiats-including-a-delightful-600-Jolly-by-Ghia.jpg)
Behind the Peugeot and the veterans is where all the Mercedes-Benzes are on display. One of two Merc 600 Pullmans takes pride of place, next to an SLC coupe, as well as a 220SE convertible, a very rare 220 S-SE Ponton cabriolet, and an SL Pagoda.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/13a-Some-more-Americans-to-ogle-at-such-as-these-two-Pontiac-GTOs.jpg)
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/13b-this-Plymouth-Road-Runner.jpg)
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/13c-or-this-Chevrolet-Camaro-and-the-Mustangs-that-you-see-behind.jpg)
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Strolling along you come across several rarities, such as an Essex, a very rare Buckler Mk V, an Auburn Speedster, a LaSalle, or a V12 Lincoln, a really beautiful 1941 Cadillac Business Coupe, as well as a rather too bright yellow Packard Super Eight convertible from 1948.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/14a-Couple-of-mighty-4x4s-such-as-this-Lamborghini-LM002-and.jpg)
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/14b-the-Hummer-H1-sulking-at-the-corner.jpg)
More recent Americans include a Chevrolet Chevelle SS from 1971, a pair of Pontiac GTOs, a Plymouth Road Runner from 1972, a ‘68 Chevy Camaro and several Ford Mustangs.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/15-The-ultimate-ones---such-as-this-Ferrari-250-GTO---were-at-the-National-Museum-of-Qatar.jpg)
Plus, a whole bunch of pick-ups and trucks of all kinds, though mostly American, including many GMCs. Scores of SUVs, including early Toyota Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, even a Lamborghini LM002 and a humongous Hummer H1.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/16-The-one-of-two-Plexiglass-Pontiac-Deluxe-Six-from-1939.jpg)
As we mentioned earlier, this is just a fraction of the collection. And we can only but guess at what might constitute the rest, but it’s also worth noting that the Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar, shaped like a desert rose, displays three of his cars.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/17a-The-Diana-Dors-Delahaye-175-S-with-flamboyant.jpg)
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/17b-and-flowing-Figoni-et-Falaschi-coachwork.jpg)
And these three are… one of the two Ferrari 250 GTOs owned by the Sheikh, a Delahaye 175 S with Saoutchik body (owned at one time by British actress Diana Dors) and a see-through Plexiglass Pontiac Deluxe Six, which is one (extant) of the two built by Rohm & Haas for GM’s ‘Highways & Horizons’ booth at the New York World Fair in 1939.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/18a-Finally-the-truck-corner-with-an-Unimog.jpg)
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/18b-some-of-the-highly-decorated-kinds-from-Asia.jpg)
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/18c-a-couple-of-monster-trucks.jpg)
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And this is just the tip of the iceberg we were told by the museum’s exhibition coordinator Ameni Abida, as Qatar is planning a new national automobile museum, the Qatar Auto Museum. The opening of the latter is scheduled for 2026, and we can be sure that it will house many more automotive wonders.
![](https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/content/images/2023/03/19-Fellow-deRivaz---Ives-contributor-Mohammed-Luqman-Ali-Khan-was-there-too.-Here-seen-posing-with-a-Buick-registered-QATAR-1.jpg)
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