The Nationales Automuseum celebrates its third anniversary: The Loh Collection remains a major attraction
- Over 275,000 visitors since opening on 23 July 2023
- “Fascination on Wheels” and “Rally Legends” feature around 160 carefully selected vehicles covering over 140 years of motoring history
- Special exhibition devoted to a spectacular new addition, the HWA EVO
Ewersbach, 21 July 2026. Three years of the Nationales Automuseum – The Loh Collection. Since opening on 23 July 2023, the award-winning collection in Dietzhölztal-Ewersbach, Central Hesse, has established itself as a must-see attraction in the international classic-car community. Since then, over 275,000 visitors from all over the world have experienced the collection. The online fan base also continues to grow. The Loh Collection’s Instagram channel now has more than 140,000 followers. A 60-bed hotel is under construction on the museum grounds to enhance the local infrastructure.
“I’m delighted by the continued high level of interest – it shows how a shared passion for cars brings together people of all generations,” says the museum’s founder, Professor Friedhelm Loh. “Right from the start, our objective has not only been to preserve the collection, but also to make it accessible to the public: as a living historical journey through technology, design, motor racing and social development. Every single vehicle tells its own tale of motoring history – of courage, innovation, craftsmanship and painstaking attention to detail.”
Fascination on Wheels: 140 Years of Automobile History
The permanent exhibition forms the museum’s centrepiece. It comprises around 130 carefully selected vehicles spanning 140 years of motoring history – from early, pioneering cars through to design icons, prototypes and one-off models, and including world-class racing cars. Highlights include Michael Schumacher’s last world championship-winning Ferrari, US President John F. Kennedy’s Lincoln Continental and the one-of-a-kind, record-breaking Maybach Exelero.
Rally Legends: A Journey Through Time on Tarmac, Gravel and Snow
Alongside its permanent exhibition, the museum regularly presents prestigious special exhibitions. After “100 Years of 24h Le Mans – the Myth, the Heroes, the Cars”, “Ferrari – Masterpieces for the Race Track and Road” and “Grand Prix -Icons of the Elite Class”, the museum is now celebrating the thrilling world of rallying.
The fourth special exhibition, ‘Rally Legends – A Journey Through Time on Tarmac, Gravel and Snow’, traces the history of rallying from its beginnings to the present day. The displays extend from early, pioneering rally cars and World Rally Championship icons through to the radical Group B machines of the 1980s. The exhibition also features Dakar Rally winners and record-breaking cars from the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Alongside these impressive vehicles, visitors learn about the unique technical challenges of rallying: maintaining traction across changing terrains, building cars for durability and drivability, and mastering the teamwork between driver and co-driver under extreme conditions.
The HWA EVO: a Modern Milestone Meets Motorsport History
A special highlight of this anniversary is the HWA EVO. Hans Werner Aufrecht, founder of AMG and HWA, personally presented chassis No. 1 of this exclusive high-performance car to the Nationales Automuseum. From 22 July 2026, the museum will mark the occasion with a special exhibition in the “Market Square”, showcasing a collection that traces the car’s evolution from the original homologation model, through its DTM racing career, to its modern reinterpretation as the HWA EVO.
The focus is on the HWA EVO, which builds on the design and philosophy of the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II – one of the best-known homologation sports cars of the DTM era. At the Nationales Automuseum, the new arrival joins two Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II models with chassis numbers 1 and 500, Klaus Ludwig’s DTM championship-winning car from the 1992 season, the HWA EVO development prototype PT01, and the HWA EVO.R.
During development, the HWA EVO PT01 underwent extensive worldwide testing and validation programmes, including at Bosch Engineering, and appeared in demonstration runs at the 2025 ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring. The HWA EVO.R represents the motorsport version of the HWA EVO. It competed in the 2026 ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring in the SONAX/Kärcher livery. The result is a unique convergence of automotive development: from the original EVO II, through the DTM successes of the early 1990s, to the modern high-performance HWA EVO and its racing counterpart.
An outstanding collection and a vibrant meeting place
Since opening, the Nationales Automuseum has won numerous awards. One of the most prestigious honours is the FIA Founding Members’ Club Heritage Cup, one of the world’s most respected awards for automotive collections and museums. In addition, the Loh Collection has established itself as a popular destination and meeting place for classic car rallies, club outings, specialist events and many other gatherings.
About the Nationales Automuseum / The Loh Collection
As one of the world’s most exciting collections of automobiles, the Nationales Automuseum / The Loh Collection in Dietzhölztal-Ewersbach, Hesse, displays around 160 spectacular vehicles from 1885 to the present. The exhibition, which has been open to the public since July 2023, covers 7,500 square metres in a network of eleven halls and museum rooms on a former industrial site. It displays numerous individual pieces and prototypes, and highlights of automotive history from the collection of the museum’s founder, Professor Friedhelm Loh, as well as selected items on loan. The aim is to document the historical, technical and economic development of the automobile and to awaken fascination for it. The comprehensive portfolio and professional curation also make the Nationales Automuseum interesting for research and teaching. The “Hochschulcampus Nationales Automuseum” (Nationales Automuseum University Campus) is affiliated with the Faculty of Business and Law at Nürtingen-Geislingen University (HfWU) and also offers a wide range of educational programmes for schools and universities. A museum shop, a cinema, catering and event areas for up to 500 people are also to be found there.
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Contact
Nationales Automuseum The Loh Collection Foundation
Hauptstrasse 154
35716 Dietzhölztal-Ewersbach, Germany
Telephone: +49 2774 923 650
E-mail: presse@nationalesautomuseum.de
www.nationalesautomuseum.de
