Emirates National Auto Museum

The Emirates National Auto Museum is located about one hour drive south of Abu Dhabi, on the E65 road to Liwa Oasis 24°05′N 54°25′E / 24.083°N 54.417°E. It houses the private collection of Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan with approximately 200 exhibition items.

Signs on the highway to the museum are easy to follow admission cost is AED50 for adults. However, it is advisable to check local news for latest opening times before the trip.


Exhibits

The pyramid-shaped building houses an unusual collection of predominantly 1950s to 1990s vehicles in various stages of customisation, hard to find in any other car museum, http://www.enam.ae/index.html

This museum is the private collection of H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan.

The collection houses a vast array of cars and other vehicles; some seemingly bought from owners there and then, such as a customised camper van, others received as presents from all around the world. While some have been kept as originally intended, others have been modified to suit the Sheikh's preference.

You will find several Mercedes, one in each colour of the rainbow for each day of the week. And they are all fitted with conveniences such as refrigerators and TV. A number of other vehicles are also rainbow coloured or have a rainbow logo painted on them and have matching seats and hubcaps. There are a number of military vehicles into which children are allowed to climb; one even has a golfing range on top.

The Dodge comes in all sizes but none is as impressive as the 5-metre-high model with a complete apartment under its roof. It was parked next to some dune-bashing monstrosities and a shiny see-through disco car. including:

With a workshop located behind the building, all exhibits are in excellent condition and several are roadgoing. There are also many gaps in the displays with no explanation. Only a handful of vehicles have information placards at all and even then it is simple specification info. There is no history or provenance provided.

On display outside are:

Opening hours - 8.00 am - 5.30 pm Every day.


http://www.enam.ae/index.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emirates National Auto Museum.

The official website of this museum is www.enam.ae. It is also listed in the official Abu Dhabi tourism lists. It has been featured on BBC's Motorworld programme in the past.

Gulf News, November 16, 2007