1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe (Von Belogorodov - Adobe Stock)
Stuttgart is a perfect city for car enthusiasts!
Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart (Von kyrychukvitaliy - Adobe Stock)
In Stuttgart, Germany, Karl Benz is often accredited as the inventor of the car. In 1885, he created the first petrol-powered automobile, the Benz Paten-Motorwagen. “Mercedes” was the name of the daughter of the Austrian entrepreneur who commissioned Benz’s first vehicle, thus the brand name Mercedes-Benz was born. You can find nods to the influence Mercedes-Benz has had in Stuttgart all throughout the city, like the rotating logo on top of the train station. The museum has been open to the public since 2016 and is one of the largest corporate museums in the world.
When visiting the Mercedes-Benz Museum visitors can opt to take two tours. One tour leads through the museum which is a tribute to Karl Benz. Guests walk through motoring history realizing that this established brand had a hand in everything from ambulances to old-school buses to the luxury models we see today. There is even a Legend’s exhibit. Nearby, there is also the option to do a factory tour where you can watch the car production and manufacturing on the assembly line. The Mercedes-Benz Factory could be deemed a small city as it employs 35,000 people and a bus is needed to get around the lot. Good thing Mercedes also makes buses.
Porsche Factory and museum in Stuttgart, Germany (Tobias Arhelger - Adobe Stock)
Ferdinand Porsche was the inventor of this highly sought-after luxury sports car. Like Mercedes-Benz, Porsche has become synonymous with Stuttgart culture, and the company logo is made up of elements from the coats of arms of Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg. The Porsche Museum, located in a unique glass building, has approximately 95 carefully curated original vehicles. A few iconic models include: the Porsche 356 “No. 1” Roadster, the Porsche 911 of various generations, the Porsche 550 and the Porsche 917. The museum tour takes you through the history in chronological order.
The factory tour allows car aficionados to look behind the scenes at the headquarters in Zuffenhausen. For the duration of the tour, individuals and groups accompany a sports car through production. There are three tours to choose from on the website and you may want to book online in advance as this tour is often sold out.
Motorworld in Boeblingen near Stuttgart, Germany (areporter - Adobe Stock)
Motorworld was once the state airport of Württemberg and is now the perfect space to hold several hundred specialty vehicles and bikes as well as a collection of shop and display rooms any car lover would love to amble around. There is a wide variety of classic cars for enthusiasts to admire including luxury brands like Lamborghini. For those wanting to live out “Fast and Furious” dreams, there is a racing simulator, and you can experience sitting in the cockpit of a racing car. Shops sell luxury and branded items so if like most of the population you can’t afford to be a fancy car collector, you can at least be an accumulator of fancy car collectibles.
To really make your trip to Stuttgart all about cars, right next door to Motorworld is the V8 Hotel Superior and V8 Hotel Classic where you can sleep in a bed made from vintage car parts and dream about flying around a racetrack at top speed. There are distinctive themed rooms featuring different parts of a car’s story, each with original parts and illustrations making for a very unique stay.
