When you think about Nashville, you think about country music, partying and music-related attractions like the Country Music Hall of Fame or the Johnny Cash Museum. However, there are also some very interesting others spots which are worth a visit. Music City, for example, is home of the largest collection of European cars and motorcycles in the United States. They are located in the Lane Motor Museum, which I visited during my fall 2022 trip to Tennessee. Here is my detailed review.
Lane Motor Museum – Location & Admission
The Lane Motor Museum is located East of the city center of Nashville, close to the I-40. It is roughly half way between the Broadway and Nashville Airport (BNA). However, you in fact just follow the city-bound Highway 41, from where the museum is located on the right hand side. The area is rather commercial and comes with car services and similar companies. There are also some basic hotels around. There is no sensible way to use public transport for the visit – you may either park your car in the large parking lot or take an Uber or similar services.
The museum is located in a former industrial building consisting of a major and a minor garage-alike building. The adult admission of 12 USD includes both parts. Lane Motor Museum is opening from Thursday to Monday, 10:00 to 17:00.
Lane Motor Museum – The Visit
All the key services are located in the main building, which I visited first. The visit took me a little more than 90 minutes. As a European, I might be quicker than the average visitor, so that I would at least plan for a two hours visit at an absolute minimum. Lane Motor Museum tries to keep as many cars as possible ready to drive. Their website states that the collection contains 150 cars and motorcycles. However, I even felt that their collection was larger. Apart from a general overview of cars, Lane Motor Museum features some specialized sections. I particularly enjoyed the area of different Fiat 500 models, for example. Of course, you should not touch or enter the cars – there are very few exceptions for taking memory snaps.
As you see in the pictures, there are even a few planes and racing cars in the museum. However, the key focus is on cars and motorcycles. There are also some very unique builds and prototypes, which leads to a very versatile and entertaining visit. Some special exhibits come with detailed documentation about the vehicle in display. One of the key highlights of the museum is definitely the red 1967 Tremulis Gyro-X, which you see on one of the pictures below. As the name suggests, the two-wheel car is stabilized by a built-in gyroscope.
Not just the posh ones…
As you see in the pictures, the museum is not only heading for the posh and luxurious models. They have quite a cool collection of small cars or cars like the Isetta, which you enter from the front. However, I also enjoyed the collection of cars by the British company Lotus, for example.
A side wing of the main building is holding the motorcycle collection of the museum. There are also some special vehicles like foldable motorcycle. Despite being the Lane Motor Museum, the Nashville technical museum also featured quite a collection of bicycles during my visit.
Garage Exhibits
The garage may also be used as additional parking space by guests. However, I just went in to see their collection of cars there. A key focus of this additional building has been on three-wheeled cars during my visit. This was also a very interesting collection to me.
Lane Motor Museum – Services
The staff at the Lane Motor Museum was amazing. You felt that they do their job with a lot of passion. The reception area also includes a nice gift shop and book shop. In addition, the museum is also selling some of their exhibits – there is a list on their website.
Lane Motor Museum – My View
The Lane Motor Museum might not be on your list when you visit Nashville – but this is definitely a mistake. The collection of cars and other vehicles is amazing, the staff is lovely. And it is a nice contrast to the somewhat-loud area around Broadway. Thus, I definitely consider this place to your planning.
Museums (Nashville)
Here are all my Museums & Exhibitions reviews from Nashville:
Top Pick! Technical Museums
Here are all my technical museum reviews, which have been assigned a Top Pick! rating: