The first article on the Prototype Museum covered the concept, history and layout of the Prototype Museum and presented half of the first floor.
The brilliantly immersive Prototype Museum is an automotive gem of the North.
The first floor continues with modern cars, and each is a prototype or a unique specimen.
The green Jordan 191 from the 1991 season offered Michael Schumacher the big chance to debut in Formula 1 at the 1991 Belgium GP.
He jumped in last minute to replace Bertrand Gachot. Against the odds, he qualified seventh, out-matching the experienced teammate Andrea de Cesaris. Another Jordan is exhibited in the Motorworld Rheinland as part of the Schumacher Collection.
Next in line is a 1960 Wendler-Porsche W/RS-001, a one-off road car designed by Wendler. This German coachbuilder was a long-term contractor for Porsche, building the aluminium chassis for the 550 and 718 race cars.
We are reaching modern-day motorsport with the mockup model of a 2017 Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car. If you think the exhibition is a bit Porsche-heave, wait until we finish the report…
The silver concept car is a 1998 Audi R8R LMP prototype, the start of Audi‘s successful 24 Hours of Le Mans career, courtesy of Audi Tradition.
The black Formula 1 car is a Toyota TF110 that was designed for the 2010 Formula 1 season, but due to the withdrawal of the team, it never entered a race.
Another impressive race car is the VW Tuareg winning Dakar races in the previous decade.
The rest of the room is occupied by Porsche-related artefacts. Our personal favourite was the simulator installed in a classic 356.
Some served pure demonstration purposes, as the 917 décor and the 911 with half the bodywork removed.
Others were iconic special editions, like the red 1958 Porsche 356 A Carrera GT.
The next floor opens with an exhibition space called Schaudepot (Exhibition depot), showcasing a selection of cars mainly from the Porsche company.
The front spot is taken by a 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster with the flaming decals. These lightweight cars were called to life on the initiative of the American importer of Porsches, Max Hoffmann.
Behind the speedster, there was a 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, a successful endurance race car of the ’60s.
The other line starts with a 1954 VW-based Rometsch Porsche Spyder followed by a golden 1966 Porsche 912, a model introduced as an affordable entry-level version of the 911.
Next up is a duo of full-blooded race cars, the white 2004 Porsche 911 GT3 RS paired with a 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS of the 991 generation.
The third line leaves the Porsche company and enlists some unusual specimen. The blue racing cigar is a 1960 De Tomaso ISI, which Count Trips provided to Scuderia Colonia for training purposes.
The 1958 VW Transporter T1 „Bulli“ was painted with the Museum’s own livery but used to work at the Fire Department in its previous life.
The strange “thing” next to it was a 1946 VW Plattenwagen, often considered a spiritual grandfather of the VW Transporter (post-war carryalls using Beetle-tech).
Finally, the selection of the hall concludes with a Tempo E 600 truck from 1937.
The next room hosts two formula cars, honouring German ace Wolfgang von Trips. TCA stands for Trips-Colotti-Auto Union, as von Trips joined forces with automotive engineer Valerio Colotti.
In Modena, von Trips and Valerio Colotti built cars for the newly founded Formula Junior racing class from the end of 1959. The team was called the TCA (Trips-Colotti-Auto Union), using a Fantuzzi chassis.
The third member in the Team’s name stands for a DKW three-cylinder two-stroke engine. Two of these cars can be found in the exhibition with the numbers 001 and 002.
The basement also entails a special exhibition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Von Trips faithful accident in Monza. The thematic exhibition is quite comprehensive with lots of information, infotainment, and memorabilia.
So that was it… The Prototype Museum might be a bit out of the way for most of us. Still, as a sightseeing programme, it offers enough fun, education and experience to spend at least half a day in a lovely environment. This museum is a must-see in Hamburg and proved well worth the detour during our second road trip to Autostadt.
As in the previous article, you have to click on the second page of this article to access the 70+ image gallery.
For an overview of the museums we visited, check out the interactive map:
