The Mullin Automotive Museum Is Celebrating The Golden Era Of Coachbuilding

Photography courtesy of the Mullin Automotive Museum

It’s almost impossible to look at a modern vehicle and trace its lineage, bit by bit, back to its ancestors. In the early days, technological progress moved slowly—but that meant other areas, like coachbuilding, could flourish. The Mullin Automotive Museum is already the place to visit for Pre-War French and coachbuilt cars, but its recent exhibit goes back even farther into the past—heck, even Bugatti made carriages.

For this exhibit, the museum begins several carriages, including “Dog Cart,” “Park Victoria,” and “Phaeton” styles, with most of them constructed in the 1800s before the invention of the motorcar. To show visitors how similar early vehicles are to these rudimentary carts, there’s a selection of elegantly coachbuilt motorcars that complete the exhibit.

It’s unlikely you’ll see a 1905 Richard-Brasier Type D Tourer or a 1913 Peugeot Model BP1 Bébé on the roads all that often (or even here in Petrolicious), but when placed in the museum with their contemporaries, it’s clear the early days of driving were as exciting as ever—but a lot more bespoke.

H/T to the Mullin Automotive Museum