Royal car collection goes on display in Iran

Tehran, Dec 7 (EFE).- A fleet of luxury cars that belonged to the Iranian royal family before the Islamic revolution has gone in display at Tehran’s Historical Car Museum.

“Now these cars belong to the people of Iran (…) and they are part of the history of Iran,” the museum’s director, Mohamad Faal, told Efe.

The collection comprises 55 cars, four motorcycles and a carriage.

The oldest in the collection is the Austrian-made carriage, which dates back to 1854, when it was purchased by the Qajar dynasty.

The latest to join the collection was a Porsche 928 acquired by Mohamed Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. The monarch, overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, never got to drive the vehicle.  

The exhibition also includes Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, which was disputed in court between Mohamed Reza and the new Islamist government at the time.

A London court — which ruled on the matter as the car had been sent to England for repair — decided the vehicle belonged to the state of Iran rather than the deposed monarch.

Among the collection is a 1934 Mercedes 500K Autobahnkurier that Hitler gave to Reza Shah, Mohamed Reza’s father and the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty.

He was overthrown by the Allied forces during World War II due to his ties with Germany and was succeeded by his son in 1941.

The exhibition features MPV Tehran, a car built by Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen at the request of then-German Chancellor Willy Brandt for Prince Reza, son of Mohamed, to learn to drive in 1972.