Although Malta is the smallest country in the European Union, it still has its own firsts on the old continent. You will find there, for example, one of the most popular car museums not only in Europe, but in the whole world. At least this follows from the assessment of the experts of the automotive server Auto Trader. Over 70 shiny racing cars from the last century can be seen in the museum on an area of three thousand square meters.
Notebook of foreign correspondents
Valletta
7:06 a.m May 4, 2024
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Exposure is anything but boring and sterile Photo: Martin Balucha | Source: Czech Radio
You can’t miss the historic car museum, even if it’s a bit tucked away in the residential part of St. Paul. You will be guided by signs that say museum, and most importantly, there is a beautiful blue historic Bugatti parked in front of the building.
Notebook of Martin Balucha
“We specialize in older racing cars. We don’t have that many tuning or four-door cars. There are a few of them here, but we focus on sports cars,” explains the head of the museum, Mark. He took over from his father, Carol Galea, who died three years ago.
He was a technician, designer, car enthusiast and collector. He parked his cars in different places. But then the family bought a house in which they first wanted to create a larger garage. But the garage gradually became a museum.
Cars as a passion
“When I was little, my dad and I played with little cars. You will find thousands of them in the museum. When my family and I went on vacation, dad looked for toy stores and toy cars even more often than I did,” laughs Mark.
But the museum does not only display cars, metals, sheet metal and tires. It’s more like an excursion into the past. For example, there is a mother’s dummy in a pink balloon and with a big blue pram, and a little further away Elvis Presley is sitting on a stool with a guitar.
This treasure is not for sale
“This is a Series 1 Jaguar-E type coupe. It was one of the first E-types to reach Malta. This car has been on the island since the 1970s,” explains Mark. “We discovered it in the garage where it had spent 49 years. Its owner was no longer able to repair it. It was a bit slammed from the front. We completely disassembled it, replaced the engine, interior, repaired and sprayed the hood.”
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Some of the cars are sold by Mark, so the display is constantly changing. But there are pieces he wouldn’t sell for any price, like the 1972 Alfa Romeo Giulia he bought for his father shortly before he died.
“Dad wanted to buy this car. He was about to celebrate his 69th or 70th birthday and I found this exact model near Naples. I bought it for him as a surprise,” says Mark.
Money best spent
“I arrived in Italy and wanted to take the car away. I had little time, moreover, I had barely driven a little, so a technical fault appeared. We had to tow the car on a rope with an Italian smoking one cigarette after another. In the end, however, we managed to get the car to Sicily on the ferry,” he continues.
The car was eventually repaired and parked in a garage.
“I told my dad to come with me to look at the new tires. I opened the garage where his car was and he burst into tears. It was a very touching moment and money best spent. He did so much for us – this was the least I could do for him. A year later he got sick and died,” concludes Mark.
She now manages the museum with her sister. They said they divided the work fairly – he takes care of the cars and she takes care of the papers.
Martin Balucha, and
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