Vintage Maybach, Mercedes and ZIL Cars Showcased at Museum near Moscow

Klimovsk Ammunition Plant, a secure enterprise in Russia’s Moscow Region, holds the world’s largest collection of vintage Maybach cars showcased at its private museum.

Despite the Auto Classics museum’s opening back in 1993, it remains unknown to the general public except a small number of specialists, due to the museum’s location at a military enterprise and its inaccessibility to a wide range of vintage car fans.
Photo: The Maybach that was owned by Eva Braun.

The plant’s chief shareholder, George Portilla Sumin, is an avid fan of vintage Maybach cars. As of today, he has collected 23 items manufactured by this German luxury car maker, with 15 of them displayed at the exhibition hall and another eight undergoing restoration.
Photo: The Maybach that was owned by Eva Braun.

All cars in the collection were manufactured in late 1930s-early 1940s.

The museum collection boasts a unique car, the only 220 Series Mercedes-Benz that has been preserved since 1939, one of the two racing automobiles built by two Italian brothers who were race car drivers. Photo: A 220 Series Mercedes-Benz.

According to the plant’s deputy general director Vitaly Yevdokimov, the facility has been visited by representatives of Daimler AG automotive corporation. A Mercedes undergoing restoration.

Daimler AG representatives suggested establishing the branch of the world’s renowned Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart at the Auto Classics museum. However, the proposal was rejected by the Russian side.
Photo: A Mercedes undergoing restoration.

The museum’s exhibition hall also showcases three presidential armored ZIL cars. Two of them were used under Boris Yeltsin’s presidency, with one owned by the president and the other used by his security guards. The museum’s third ZIL automobile was used by Mikhail Gorbachev during his presidency.
Photo: Armored ZIL cars.