The Sarasota Classic Car Museum
Sarasota, Florida

by Rick Brown

Their website and brochures boast that the museum is directly across the street from the Ringling Museum … which is kind of true. It is across the street … up a ways north a bit. But I guess I can’t blame the place for trying to get some art cred. To its credit, The Sarasota Classic Car Museum IS a non-profit … and is the 2nd oldest continuously operated automobile collection in the U.S. And they do offer a nice variety of vehicles to admire, from “horseless carriages” to futuristic endeavors like the DeLorean.

What makes this museum charming is that the collection is delightfully all over the place. Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Jaguar, Edsel, Ferrari, and even a Big Daddy Garlits’ dragster are all here. There are a few “celebrity vehicles” included as well. There’s John and Mable Ringling’s (of circus fame) Rolls Royces, John Lennon’s ’65 Mercedes, as well as a Mini Cooper once owned by Sir Paul McCartney.

I do have a couple small gripes about the museum. The building itself is rather dreary … the lighting is bad in some areas. And the way the cars are displayed makes it virtually impossible to get a good photograph of many of the cars. That said, if you enjoy looking at classic automobiles the Sarasota Classic Car Museum is well worth a visit … especially if it’s a rainy day. You can even print off a discount coupon for a dollar off the price of admission from their website!

For more information please go to: http://www.sarasotacarmuseum.org/