Florida’s Sunshine Offers Best Light to View Antique Cars

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The Tracta was a French car manufacturer active between 1926 and 1934. These cars were pioneers of the front-wheel drive.

Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Automobile Museum

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The 12,000-square-foot gallery at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum shows off the institution's important collection of vintage European and American vehicles. Many are original and extremely rare automobiles from the...

Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Automobile Museum

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A 1935 Briggs Cunningham at the Elliott Museum in Stuart

Photo Credit: Elliott Museum

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Classic cars at the Elliott Museum in Stuart

Photo Credit: Elliott Museum

Come along for a tour of Florida's classic car museums.

Florida’s long been a haven for car enthusiasts, starting with the first travelers seeking sunshine in Pensacola, Amelia Island or Palm Beach in their Model Ts and roadsters. Fortunately many of these early vehicles have been salvaged by antique car enthusiasts who house and show their collections throughout the Sunshine State.  

Domestic antiques at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum are accompanied by a collection of European cars, including Citroën, Allard, Tracta and Mercedes. In a building whose architecture is itself an artistic statement, visitors can see the evolution of aerodynamic shaping and pioneering technological achievements including front-wheel drive and rear-engine cars from the 1920s and 1930s. Each vehicle was chosen based on its unique role in the development of the automobile. This connoisseur’s collection is in west central Florida, an easy drive from St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Orlando.

The Sarasota Classic Car Museum has antique, celebrity and classic cars, including a 1956 Bentley owned by John Lennon. It gets star billing alongside a collection of Rolls Royces owned by John and Mable Ringling, of circus show fame. In addition to rotating exhibits, another feature here is the Timeline Room that traces the evolution of the car from its 1885 invention by Karl Benz to the present day.

The Sarasota Classic Car Museum has antique, celebrity and classic cars, including a 1956 Bentley owned by John Lennon.

In the state Capitol, notoriety adds to the draw at the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum. Rare vehicles such as a 1931 Ford Roadster, a 1948 Tucker Torpedo and a 1956 Corvette convertible are part of an eclectic inventory that includes toy replicas of autos and priceless Steinway pianos. Movie buffs will enjoy admiring the Batmobiles of 1992 and 1995. Another relic, the 1860 horse-drawn hearse used for President Lincoln’s funeral, adds a historical note in a city whose own past that dates to the 1500s.

A collection of 25 vintage cars celebrates innovation at the Elliott Museum in Stuart. Each February, it hosts the popular Elliott Car Show, a favorite of many Florida connoisseurs. More than 200 collectible cars and motorcycles rally to this museum that celebrates American innovation and creativity. The focus is turn-of-the-century Americana, and a gallery dedicated to baseball memorabilia adds another highlight to this bucolic beachfront spot.

Packards lead the parade at Fort Lauderdale’s Antique Car Museum. Twenty-two of these storied vehicles are housed in a replica of a 1920s Packard showroom. Vehicles with coachbuilder bodies, those built independently of the chassis manufacturer, are a secondary focus. Every auto at the Antique Car Museum is maintained in running condition by the on-site workshop, and there’s a section dedicated to a patriotic hero, the late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.

Muscle cars are always fashionable in Punta Gorda, where a vast showroom celebrates these iconic emblems of the 1960s and early 1970s. Rick Treworgy’s Muscle Car Museum features the largest muscle car collection in the United States, including some dating back to the early 1920s. This attraction is like a time-travel experience. A brightly decorated 1950s diner, a memorabilia shop and the showroom are like a visit to the set of “Happy Days.” From aqua to cherry red, these stylish cars make every driver look like a movie star.

Bring your sunglasses, grab your GPS, and holler, “Road trip!” It’s time to get on the road!

If You Go:

Tampa Bay Automobile Museum
727-579-8226
3301 Gateway Centre Blvd.
Pinellas Park, FL 33782

Sarasota Classic Car Museum
941-355-6228
5500 N. Tamiami Trl.
Sarasota, FL  34243

Tallahassee Antique Car Museum
850-942-0137
6800 Mahan Dr.
Tallahassee, FL 32308

Elliott Museum
772-225-1961
825 N.E. Ocean Blvd.
Stuart, FL  34996

Antique Car Museum
954-779-7300
1527 Packard Ave. (S.W. 1st Avenue)
Fort Lauderdale, FL  33315

Rick Treworgy’s Muscle Car City Museum
941-575-5959
3811 Tamiami Trl.
Punta Gorda, FL 33950