By Roy Lie Atjam
Diplomat Magazine has been granted a preview of the upcoming Exhibition “F1 Legends”, and a Car extravaganza reception was organized on 29 June 2022 at Louwman Museum. The diplomatic community responded enthusiastically.
We observed ambassadors and diplomats from Costa Rica, Australia, Ghana, Rwanda, Cyprus, Cameroon, USA, Guatemala, Suriname, Iran, South Africa, Venezuela, Thailand, Ecuador, Germany, Philippines, Albania, Chad, Romania, Nigeria, Portugal, North Macedonia, Ukraine, New Zealand, Russia, Vietnam, Belgium, ICJ, ESA and IOM, to mention a few. They enjoyed the warm hospitality offered by Louwman Museum.
On display are Eight F1 cars of legendary drivers that took part in the Dutch Grand Prix between 1948 and 1970. The permanent collection of the museum with 250 antique and classic automobiles produced by more than 100 different manufacturers and presenting every aspect of the history of the automobile, was also open to Diplomat Magazine’s guests.
Guido Roozekrans from Louwman and responsible for external relations welcomed the guests and said: “I am very proud that Louwman Group, the beautiful Louwman Museum and the Louwman brands have been collaborating with Diplomat Magazine since the very first issue of the magazine!” Roozekrans talked on behalf of Eric Louwman who was not able to attend.
“The founder of this fantastic museum is Mr. Evert Louwman. To be honest, I don’t know anyone in the world who has as much knowledge and passion for historic vehicles than Evert. He is known, in the Netherlands and abroad, as the ultimate passionate car enthusiast and has dedicated a significant part of his life to the cultural heritage of the automobile.
Our collection of historic vehicles is housed in this building designed by Michael Greaves, who also designed the building of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare & Sport in The Hague.
Exactly 12 years ago Louwman Museum was officially opened by our former Queen of the Netherlands, her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix. We are proud that our museum enjoys worldwide fame and is considered to be one of the most beautiful and important automobile collections in the world by experts. And, of course, it is always nice when third parties say this.” He explained.
The exhibition ‘F1 Legends’ in the Louwman Museum Step into the history of the Zandvoort Grand Prix. The exhibition opened on 1 July and ended on 4 September, the day on which this year’s F1 Grand Prix was held at Zandvoort.
F1 Legends Ascari, Fangio and Clark
Highlights of the special exhibition are undoubtedly the winning Ferrari 500 F2(1952/1953) driven by Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio’s victorious Mercedes-Benz W196 (1955) and the winning Lotus 33 (1965) driven by Jim Clark.
The Louwman Museum dates back to 1934. Since then, the collection has been expanded and refined in stages. The collection includes one of the oldest surviving automobiles in the world, an 1887 De Dion-Bouton et Trépardoux. Also The only and oldest surviving pre-war Toyota in the world
The emphasis is more on special models, groundbreaking designs and one-offs than on medium-sized cars for the general public.
Diplomats enjoyed talking to automobiles experts from the museum, while a jazz band played songs from the 80’s and 90’s. Impressive car collection, and a relax atmosphere, goes without saying that it was a fantastic night.
