National Car Museum of Iran

(Above: The entrance to the Museum)

The National Car Museum of Iran opened in Karaj, Iran in 2001. Inside the museums are classic cars owned by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. There are two parts to the complex. There is a large museum which is open to the public and there is a restoration center in the back where no visitors can enter.

There are many cars in the museum, ranging from sport cars to limousines and carriages which carried the royal family. Some of these cars include:

• Lamborghini Countach
• Ferrari 365GT BB
• Ferrari 500 Superfast
• MPV Tehran Type (specially designed by Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen for Reza Pahlavi)
• Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
• Rolls-Royce Phantom III
• Rolls-Royce Phantom IV
• Rolls-Royce Phantom V
• Stutz Blackhawk
• Mercedes-Benz 500K (owned by Hitler and driven from Iran to Russia to check on his troops)
• Mercedes-Benz 190SL
• Maserati Ghibli Coupé
• Ford Model A

(Above: Mercedes-Benz 500K inside the museum)

After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Shah of Iran fled the country and leaving behind most of his possessions. He was famous for his love of sports cars, and he was known for taking out one of his many cars late at night and racing through the highways of Tehran. After he fled the country, many of his cars were put into hiding: either stored in garages, hidden underground, or even pushed into water. Following the revolution, these cars have been recovered, restored, and put into the museum. On rare occasions, these cars are actually driven.