> GERMAN MAZDA MUSEUM A MARVEL

You would think the Germans would venerate Karl Benz as the inventor of the automobile. And most of them do, but Markus Frey of Augsburg, Germany and his family (with his father, Walter, and brother, Joachim) have fallen in love with Mazdas. Not only do they operate three Mazda dealerships in this city, about 80 kilometres from Munich, but they have also opened a museum earlier this year which contains the largest collection of vintage Mazdas outside Japan. The museum is located in an old streetcar depot, built in 1897. A small section of the original streetcar track has been preserved. But the majority of the space is rightly given over to the cars, at least one of virtually every model produced by the company since it began building vehicles in 1931. The Frey collection numbers more than 120 vehicles, some 50 of which are on rotating display at any one time. The star of the show is undoubtedly a perfectly restored Mazda Cosmo Sport, an extremely rare twin-turbo Wankel- engined sports coupe. Two of these beauties were entered in the 1968 Nurburgring 24-hour race; one of them actually finished fourth overall, but Mazda chose not to continue their racing program. This car is on permanent display at the Frey museum. For the itinerary of your visit to Germany, you might not think to include a Mazda museum. But if you are a fan of the marque, or if you think all Germans are cold and logical, you should visit this place. mazda-classic-frey.de/en/E