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Presidential Cars Museum in Burgundy

by Francois Hagnere on 24/11/08 at 7:26 am

In a French Classical château of the XVIIIth century, 38 prestigious cars of world leaders have been collected and are presented to the public.

PRESIDENTIAL CARS MUSEUM IN BURGUNDY

On the sinuous roads of Burgundy (France), not far from Vézelay and its magnificent abbey-church « upon the inspired hill » as Maurice Barrès used to say, you will easily find your way to the Château of Monjalin. This is a classical château of the XVIIIth century with a fronton and two wings. It has a particularity, the proprietor who has a real passion for automobiles, installed here a museum for heads of states cars.

General de Gaulle’s Simca Présidence and President J.F.Kennedy’s Lincoln Continental.

In the outbuildings you will find all types of prestigious cars. One of the three Lincoln Continental (1962) of the White House is presented here. This vehicle is similar to the one in which President J.F.Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The convertible version will soon be abandoned for evident safety reasons and replaced by armored and safer models. Close to the Lincoln, the « Papamobile », limousine of Pope Paul VI with a microphone, a detail that can also be found on President Clinton’s Cadillac. You will love (like me) the marvellous Simca Présidence of General de Gaulle (1960) a very special and luxurious convertible. Queen Elizabeth II and President Khrushchev sat on the fine beige leather seats at the rear (not together and not on the same day though). Eight of the eleven Citroën DS of General de Gaulle are also visible as well as one automatic version used by President Giscard d’Estaing with his fetish registration number. All the regimes are here and the visit continues with Marshall Pétain’s Renault Vivastella (1937), the Chrysler Imperial (1968) of President Bongo, the Cadillac Fleetwood of the Emir of Abu Dhabi, the Austin of the King of Belgium (1947). A large part of the museum is also devoted to cars of the Soviet Block: such as the convertible Zil (copied from a Packard). President Brezhnev had all the Zils repainted white, the black cars so much symbolized the opacity of the Soviet power. Close to the Zil is President Honecker’s Citroën CX ordered just before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

You will not leave the museum without admiring President Eisenhower’s Chrysler Imperial (1952) and enjoying a nice walk through the park. Contemporary History also has its landmarks.

Latest news : The Museum was closed in February 2011, and the proprietor sold part of his collection. General de Gaulle’s Simca was sold, as well as President Giscard d’Estaing’s DS and President Breshnev’s Zil.

Gen. De Gaulle and his Citroën DS.

3-PR-75 : 3 stands for third car, PR for President of the Republic, 75 for Paris.

Cpoyright DR: psa-peugeot-citroën.com