Until 6 September 2026, the Principality is devoting its major summer exhibition to the automobile. More than fifty authentic vehicles, all linked to Monaco’s history, have been brought together at the Grimaldi Forum. Our videographer attended the opening and takes you on a guided tour.
Never before has an exhibition of this scale been devoted to the relationship between a country and the automobile. Curated by Rodolphe Rapetti, general curator of heritage, “Monaco and the Automobile, from 1893 to the present day” spans more than 3,500 m² and brings together some fifty vehicles, alongside around 250 documents, photographs and archive films, many of them on loan from the Automobile Club de Monaco.
A Rolls-Royce that made history
The tour opens with a centrepiece: the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith convertible used at the wedding of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly on 19 April 1956. A little-known detail: the car never belonged to the princely family. It was on loan at the time and is now in the hands of an American collector.
The visit continues with the concours d’élégance that made the Principality’s reputation from the late 19th century onwards. Originally, these competitions judged horse-drawn carriages, their horses and their drivers, before opening up to the automobile. Period posters, one of them dating back to 1922, bear witness to this golden age.
Legends of the Monte-Carlo Rally
Created in 1911, the Monte-Carlo Rally had the particularity of drawing crews from all four corners of Europe towards the Principality. The exhibition traces its finest hours through an exceptional collection of winning cars: the Mini Cooper S, surprise victor of the 1964 edition, Sandro Munari’s Lancia Fulvia (1972), Jean-Pierre Nicolas’s Alpine A110, and the Lancia Stratos, a near-prototype with a Ferrari engine designed specifically for rallying.
The following decades are equally well represented: Jean Ragnotti’s Renault 5 Turbo (1981), Ari Vatanen’s Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 (1985), Didier Auriol’s Lancia Delta HF Integrale (1990), Sébastien Loeb’s Citroën Xsara WRC (2003) and Sébastien Ogier’s Toyota Yaris WRC (2021). Moving from one model to the next, visitors can observe the gradual appearance of sponsors on the bodywork and the growing sophistication of the aerodynamics.
From the first Grand Prix to Charles Leclerc
The other major chapter of the exhibition is devoted to the Monaco Grand Prix, created in 1929 on the initiative of Anthony Noghès, with the help of driver Louis Chiron. Previously unseen documents retrace the creation of the circuit, whose layout has remained virtually unchanged since its early days, and a large animated model explains how it has evolved.
The line-up of single-seaters is breathtaking: the Bugatti 35B that won the first Grand Prix in the hands of William Grover-Williams, Graham Hill’s Lotus 49B, winner in both 1968 and 1969, Nigel Mansell’s Ferrari 640, the first Formula 1 car with a sequential gearbox (1989), and the McLaren MP4/8 in which Ayrton Senna claimed his sixth and final victory in the Principality in 1993. The tour ends with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari SF-24, winner in 2024, making him only the second Monegasque to win at home after Louis Chiron.
From the origins to the Moon
By way of conclusion, the exhibition stages a symbolic face-to-face encounter: the Panhard & Levassor of 1893, the first automobile to reach the Principality, stands alongside the lunar rover developed by Monaco-based Venturi, set to take part in forthcoming Moon exploration missions. More than 130 years separate the two vehicles, and they sum up in themselves the story this exceptional exhibition sets out to tell.
Practical information
“Monaco and the Automobile, from 1893 to the present day”, Grimaldi Forum Monaco, 10, avenue Princesse Grace. Until 6 September 2026, open daily from 10 am to 8 pm, late openings on Thursdays until 10 pm (exceptionally closed on Saturday 22 August). Full price: 15 euros, free for under-18s.
A report by Antonio da Palma Ferramacho and the Luxgears channel
