Ten surprising cars to see at the Cité de l'Automobile in Mulhouse.

Two Benetton Formula One cars

The Cité de l'Automobile in Mulhouse France is the National Automobile Museum of France and is based around the famous collection of Bugatti vehicles by the Schlumpf brothers,  Thus I was expecting to see lots of Bugattis and other French cars.  What I got was a lot more!    Here are ten surprising parts of the collection that I hadn't expected to see.  All of the pictures are those that I took during my visit at Easter in April 2019.

1 & 2. Benetton Formula One Cars.
I hadn't expected to see relatively modern Formula One cars on display and especially not ones with little association to France.  Above you can see two lovely example.
The one nearest the camera is a 1993 Camel Benetton B193-01 with Ford Cosworth V8 engine.  This car took part in the first four World Championship Grand Prix of 1993 driven by Ricardo Patrese and Michael Schumacher.  The B193 took a single win with Schumacher winning in Portugal.
The one furthest from the camera is a Camel Benetton B191-02 with Ford Cosworth V8 engine. This car took part in the 1991 Grand Prix Season.  Michael Schumacher made his debut in one of these cars at the 1991 Belgian GP.   Nelson Piquet took the B191's only win and his 23rd and final win in the 1991 Canadian GP.

1948 Cisitalia D46.

3. 1948 Cisitalia D46 Monoplace.
Cisitalia was an Italian marque founded by Pierre Dusio that existed just after the Second World War.   They produced vehicles based on Fiat or other mass produced car parts, both single seaters and sports cars.  The D46 was their first car and was based on parts from the famous Fiat 500 Topolino.  A car very popular with Italian amateur drivers, Tazio Nuvolari, Alberto Ascari and Piero Taruffi also raced them.  The Cisitalia company eventually became bankrupt and Carlo Abarth bought the assets to start his famous company.

1986 Ford Coupé RS200 rally car.

4. 1986 Ford Coupé RS200 rally car.
This mid-engined 4wd rally car was produced for Group B but development issues and the demise of Group B meant that it had a rather short and unsuccessful rally career.  In fact a tragic accident in which a RS200 was involved was a main factor in the FIA ending Group B rally cars.  It did however have some success as a rallycross car.   This car appears to be the Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund 1986 car that had a couple of minor wins.

1934 Standard-Swallow SS1

5. 1934 Standard-Swallow SS1
This English car can be regarded as a predecessor of the Jaguar marque as William Lyons was involved with both projects and in 1945 SS cars changed its name to Jaguar.  For the SS1, Standard built the chassis and engine and Swallow was the coach builder of the body.

1936 Maserati 1.5l litre GP Monoplace

6. 1936 Maserati 1.5 litre GP Monoplace.
This Swiss owned Maserati had twenty years of competition history during which time it was continuously updated and improved.  A rather unusual looking car because of the developments.

1929 Mercedes-Benz Sport 38 / 250 SS 

7. 1929 Mercedes-Benz Sport 38 / 250 Super Sport
It might surprise some to know that this Mercedes-Benz was designed by Ferdinand Porsche.  Competition versions of this achieved fame when driven by the great Rudolf Caracciola.  This is perhaps one of the greatest vintage sports cars.

1963 Ferrari 156B F1 

8. 1963 Ferrari 156B F1
This is the car in which  Lorenzo Bandini won his only World Championship GP.  It was the 1964 Austrian GP and this car survived the bumpy Zeltweg airfield circuit to win.  The car behind is Jo Siffert's Lotus 24.

1937 Mercedes-Benz W125 GP car.

9. 1937 Mercedes-Benz W125 GP car.
Driven by Rudolf Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchistch and Herrmann Lang this car achieved a number of victories.  Caracciola became European Champion in the W125.  A very significant pre-war car.  The car behind the Mercedes is a 1938 2 seater Bugatti sports racing car, a T59/50B.

1953 Alfa Romeo C52

10. 1953 Alfa Romeo C52.
A member of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante or Flying Saucer family, this car was converted to a more conventional body work.  It raced in period and has a 2 litre engine.  A very rare car!   This particular car is sometimes called " Fianchi Stretti" or narrow hips..This car competed in the 1953 Mille Miglia and many other events as a private entry.  The Schlumpf brothers bought the car in 1963.

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Many other surprising cars to see including some Lotuses.