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One of the most storied troves of French Art Deco automobiles anywhere in the world has finally found its permanent institutional home. On July 18, the Petersen Automotive Museum will unveil the Mullin Family Gallery inside its renowned Vault, giving visitors an exclusive first look at machines from the fabled Mullin Collection, a grouping widely regarded as one of the finest, rarest, and most valuable assemblies of pre-war French automobiles ever put together.
The unveiling fulfills a vision that collector, philanthropist, and longtime Petersen champion Peter Mullin held for decades: that these rolling sculptures would one day be preserved and shared with the broadest possible audience. Mullin viewed the automobile as one of the purest forms of industrial art, and he considered the French Art Deco era one of the twentieth century's great artistic and engineering achievements.
Over nearly three decades, Peter and his wife Merle Mullin assembled an unparalleled group of Bugattis, Delahayes, Delages, Talbot-Lagos, Voisins, and Hispano-Suizas celebrating the artistry of France's interwar coachbuilders. Together they founded the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California, an institution built around what Peter liked to call sculpture in motion.
"If you can dream it, you can make it happen," Peter Mullin was fond of saying, and that ethos now guides the next chapter of the collection's life under the Mullin Family Foundation and Merle Mullin's leadership.
Merle Mullin, co-founder of the Mullin Automotive Museum and a Petersen board member, says the collection was always meant for history rather than for the couple alone, and that the Petersen was the steward Peter trusted to carry it forward. Petersen Executive Director Terry Karges echoed that sentiment, crediting Peter Mullin with helping shape the modern Petersen and calling it an honor to become steward of a collection he considers unmatched anywhere in the world.
This summer's debut inside the Vault is only the opening chapter. In 2028, the Petersen's existing Mullin Family Gallery will host a much larger exhibition featuring nearly 30 vehicles from the collection, transforming the museum's signature gallery space into one of the most significant public presentations of French Art Deco automobiles ever assembled.
Among the machines debuting this summer are the legendary 1937 Delahaye Type 145 known as the Million Franc Delahaye, the award-winning 1934 Voisin C27 Aerosport Coupe, and a deep bench of Bugatti, Talbot-Lago, Delage, Peugeot, and Hispano-Suiza masterpieces. Vehicles going on display in 2026 include:
1922 Hispano-Suiza Type H6B "Skiff Torpedo"
1926 Bugatti Type 37A
1931 Bugatti Type 50S by Million-Guiet
1934 Voisin Type C27 Aerosport Coupe Reconstruction
1934 Voisin Type C27 Grand Sport Roadster
1935 Voisin Type C25 Aerodyne
1936 Delahaye Type 135CS
1937 Hispano Suiza K6 Break de Chasse
1937 Peugeot 402L Eclipse by Pourtout
1937 Peugeot 302DS Darl'Mat Cabriolet by Pourtout
1937 Delahaye Type 135 M Cabriolet
1937 Delahaye Type 145
1937 Talbot Lago T-150-C-S "Teardrop" Coupe
1938 Delahaye Type 145 "V-12 Coupe" by Henri Chapron
1939 Delahaye T-165 V-12 "World's Fair"
1939/49 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante
1950 Talbot-Lago T26C Grand Sport by Stabilimenti Farina
1951 Delahaye Type 235 Cabriolet by Saoutchik
1951 Bugatti Type 101C by Gangloff
1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport by Stabilimenti Farina
Tickets and additional exhibit details are available through the Petersen Automotive Museum's website. The museum is located at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
