Southward Car Museum

Welcome to the Southward Car Museum. From the exterior, this unassuming block of concrete masks what is arguably one of the most comprehensive and prestigious automotive collections in the Southern Hemisphere. …

Our scholarly examination appropriately begins with the genesis of the collection: the 1915 Ford Model T. This specific vehicle is the cornerstone of the museum, purchased by Sir Len Southward for forty pounds, igniting a passion…

We now transition to a vehicle steeped in notoriety and the dark underbelly of mid-century American history: a custom-armored Cadillac belonging to the infamous Los Angeles gangster, Mickey Cohen. This automobile is a fascinating…

In stark contrast to the criminal utility of the previous vehicle, we arrive at an automotive icon of Hollywood's Golden Age: an enormous V16 Cadillac formerly owned by the legendary actress, Marlene Dietrich. Dietrich was an…

We now focus our analytical lens on a pinnacle of pre-war European engineering: the magnificent Mercedes-Benz 540K. This specific vehicle holds a complex and fascinating history. …

Our exploration shifts from luxury and scale to pure mechanical eccentricity. The museum houses a remarkable collection of vehicles that aggressively defied conventional design paradigms. …

To conclude our tour, we descend into the lower level of the museum, an area dedicated to exposing the raw, unadulterated mechanical underpinnings of the automobile. Here, the polished bodywork is stripped away to reveal complex…

As we emerge from the depths of the Southward Car Museum, it is necessary to pause and reflect on the monumental achievement of Sir Len Southward. What began as a personal fascination with a single, forty-pound Model T Ford has…