M24, the motorsport museum

[Photos: Sérgio de Almeida Correia]

At a time when several large-scale museum projects are finally underway in Macau, which are fundamental to the city’s future image and high-quality tourism, it is important to inform MDT readers about how an old museum has been renovated and transformed, turning it into a cutting-edge institution capable of preserving and showcasing a glorious past, attracting new audiences, and projecting the future.

Modern, tasteful, and highly ambitious concepts have transformed the space of the venerable and much-loved 24 Hours Museum into the new M24 Museum, a museum dedicated to motor sport that was briefly mentioned last week.

With Lewis Hamilton as its patron, the new museum is, in the words of Richard Mille and Pierre Fillon, a “place to experience the emotions evoked by motor racing, past, present, and future.” Keeping endurance racing at the heart of the narrative, it’s a place to learn about the past, experience new emotions, and attract visitors of all backgrounds: from casual aficionados to tourists, children, motorsport lovers, engineers, mechanics, history lovers, both young and old.

Designed by architect Frédéric Audevard, it boasts a strong architectural character, inspired by the aerodynamics, speed, and adrenaline at play in motor racing, and is divided into twelve distinct areas. It combines natural light with technology in an “immersive scenography, where architecture combines with the content to heighten emotions.”

Respecting the most rigorous environmental standards, it has a “green roof designed to manage different levels of rainwater thanks to harvesting and drainage,” and its materials, chosen for their sustainability and environmental responsibility, are lightweight, durable, and recyclable, perfectly integrated into the architecture of the circuit and the surrounding area.

Composed of two parts, one dating from 1961 and belonging to the old museum, and its extension, now covering 8,600 m² of exhibition space, it has been a valuable contribution to the local economy, with the participation of almost forty local companies.

With some vehicles dating back to the 19th century, the hundred or so cars on display are landmarks of motorsport, complemented by rare objects that belonged to famous manufacturers and drivers, from racing suits and shoes – such as those worn by Ayrton Senna, Jacky Ickx, and Tom Kristensen – to the trophy awarded to the first winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1923 and scale replicas of 4,667 cars that participated in the race over the years, not forgetting gloves, helmets, manuscripts, and even the autographed French flag from the centenary edition.

Several cars from different generations are lined up as if on a starting grid for a race.

With numerous scale models, high-quality films, various first-rate interactive experiences that convey all the emotion and, the latest news, in addition to some motorcycles, a tribute to Michael Schumacher, the presence of 16 mythical vehicles from the Formula 1 World Championship, the World Rally Championship, Indy, CAN-AM, and the Paris-Dakar, and the recreation of workshops and motorsport teams to scale, it is a place where schools, children, and families are welcome. The 1924 Bentley 3L alone involved 3,700 hours of restoration work.

Also offering guided tours, conference rooms, and a 50 m² video room, it is complemented by a souvenir shop that is a hymn to the joy of living, elegance, and good taste evident in many of the products it offers, and where everything is so different from what is offered in similar museum shops in Macau. There, almost anything is desirable to buy, from genuine cotton T-shirts to clothing, exclusive perfumes, paintings, prints, sportswear, excellent books, and miniatures – something for every budget.

A museum that can truly be called a museum, where the senses can delight and everyone can learn something. It has everything to make it worth a visit. Sérgio de Almeida Correia, MDT, Le Mans