Tribune News Network
Doha
The Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, a cultural landmark in Qatar, held the opening of its new designated Car Museum.
Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Sheikh Mohammed bin Faisal Al Thani and Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Thani, along with top VIPs, ambassadors and local and international media attended the opening ceremony and were given a guided tour of the new Car Museum collection.
The Car Museum is an extension of the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, a cultural landmark in Al Samriya Estate, Al Shahaniya, north west of Doha.
As part of the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum tours, the Car Museum welcomes visitors to view around its 300 stunning classic cars and then take in the museum’s treasure trove of 30,000 unique exhibits of Islamic art, Qatar heritage, international artifacts, carpets, Jewellery and textiles.
In the Car Museum, visitors can experience a multi-faceted journey through the history of over 120 years of motorised development, revealing and reflecting human’s needs to advance technology to shorten distances and connect people across on the Arabian Peninsula and Qatar.
The new Car Museum exhibits include exquisite classic car models of 1900s onwards, from legendary 1908 Studebaker and 1924 Ford T Roadster models to a 1958 Cadillac and 1968 Ford Mustang.
Classic models of cars and trucks, sports cars, convertibles and limousines, make up the unique collection, taking visitors back in time, evoking memories of a bygone motoring era up to the present day.
Speaking at the event, Sheikh Faisal said, "It gives me great pleasure to be at the opening of this car exhibition, as I have always had a passion for cars, collecting truly iconic models over the years. This interest quickly turned into a hobby for me which has now produced this significant collection of different classic cars. As it attracted the attention of the public and generated more and more interest, this prompted me to open an exhibition of my own collection of cars.
"I am particularly proud that the opening of this year’s exhibition coincided with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which gives us a greater opportunity to showcase these distinctive pieces to Qatar’s guests from all over the world. This has also meant recognising the importance of an industry, which has historically formed a life-changing link between peoples and places around the world. The expo also provides a chance for our visitors to experience some of the most stylish models of amazing cars from the early 1900s up to the present day.”
He added, "The new museum reflects my journey of acquiring these classic motors as the automotive industry evolved and tells the story of its history at the same time. Some of the cars offered in this collection are my own cars, those of my father, Sheikh Qassim Al Thani, and those of other Qatari families and international celebrities.”
The Car Museum is divided into eight zones from 1900 up to the 1980s, each one exhibiting some of the most famous and sought-after models of the era.These include a 1951 Chrysler and Buick of the same year, a 1955 Pontiac, a 1937 Peugeot, Roadster and even a 1940 army tank. The Car Museum is being offered as part of the museum tour priced at QR50 for adults and free for kids under 12, with no extra fees being charged to visit it.
Mona El Helbawi, group general manager at Al Rayyan Investment in Education and Sports Cluster, said: "The new FBQ Car Museum is continuing the heritage that Sheikh Faisal established, and is the first of its kind in the Middle East.
We take pride in being part of this legacy, being continued by Sheikh’s Faisal’s sons and daughters to keep the heritage alive for generations to come. The Car Museum has a unique collection of models from the first car invented in the world to iconic cars of their time, zoned by eras to illustrate the remarkable history of motoring over the years.”
The FBQ Museum was established 25 years ago and the Car Museum is one of many new developments, including a new extension opening soon. There are over 1,000 cars in the collection, but only 300 cars are being displayed for the opening.