Featured image: 1964 Peel P-50. (Photo: Lane Motor Museum)
When the 19th annual Artomobilia automotive gathering takes over the streets of downtown Carmel on Saturday, Aug. 29, thousands of car enthusiasts will marvel at more than 500 feature vehicles lining the Carmel Arts & Design District and Midtown. Yet among the vast rows of pristine classics and rare exotic supercars, one specially curated display stands poised to redefine the boundaries of conventional automotive design: a six-vehicle showcase brought directly from Nashville’s famed Lane Motor Museum.
Founded and guided by automotive visionary Jeff Lane, the nonprofit 501(c)(3) museum houses the largest collection of European cars in North America. Housed in the historic former Sunbeam Bakery building in Nashville, the 132,000-square-foot facility displays an astounding array of 515 vehicles that defy standard classification—spanning microcars, propeller-powered vehicles, one-off prototypes, amphibious, and rare European marques.
A Lifelong Spark for the Unconventional
For Lane, the journey toward establishing one of the world’s most eccentric automotive sanctuaries began in the late 1960s. Growing up north of Detroit in Romeo, Michigan, his early passion was ignited by his father’s affinity for classic British roadsters, specifically the MG T-type series.
“My dad was into old cars,” Lane recalled. “When he was in the army in 1954, he bought a brand-new MG TF. He moved back to Michigan, started a family, and realized a two-seater sports car with no heater in a northern climate wasn’t practical, so he had to get rid of it. But when he got a little older, he decided he wanted another MG TF kind of like his old one. I helped him work on it and restore it.”
At age 12, Lane began restoring his own 1955 MG TF, completing the project in 1977. His path eventually led him south to Vanderbilt University, where he earned a mechanical engineering degree between 1978 and 1982—a background that fundamentally shaped how he views automotive innovation.
Four Pillars of Ingenuity
Opened 22 years ago, the Lane Motor Museum has grown into an international magnet for transportation history. The repository relies on four main pillars of curatorial distinction:
- Microcars: Diminutive icons like the BMW Isetta and Messerschmitt, defined by engine capacities under 400 cc.
- Propeller-Powered Vehicles: Around 20 rare machines, ranging from ice sleds and bicycles to specialized aero-cars.
- Prototypes and One-Offs: Forty rare experimental concept vehicles and single-production builds.
- Tatra Collection: A historic 20-vehicle collection from the famed Czechoslovakian manufacturer known for pioneering rear V8 engines and air-cooled aerodynamic design.
“We have 515 cars, and we kind of have four major themes,” Lane said. “Our overriding theme is unique and different—cars you haven’t typically seen.”
Sourcing the Obscure
Finding vehicles that meet the museum’s criteria requires a global network of enthusiast spotters rather than routine trips to commercial collector auctions.
“People who have unique, interesting cars will get ahold of me,” Lane explained. “A great example is a 1934 Crossley-Burney Streamliner we just bought from England. They made 25 of them, and there are only two left. It was at an obscure English auction company I’d never heard of, but a friend from England saw it, knew it fit what we’re interested in, and emailed me.”
Anchoring Artomobilia 2026
Connected to Artomobilia organizers through mutual community ties, Lane recognizes the critical role events like Artomobilia play in passing automotive appreciation down to the next generation.
For this year’s Carmel presentation, Lane selected six vehicles that encapsulate the museum’s core philosophy across its main themes.
“We try to pick vehicles that are in running condition, and that are representative of our four main categories,” Lane explained.
○ 1932 Helicron: A one-of-a-kind, propeller-driven French car found in a barn in 2000, still road-legal in France, and pushed along by a propeller spinning at its nose.
○ 1959 Citroën ID 19: The elegant French saloon whose hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension and aerodynamic shape made it decades ahead of its time.
○ 1964 Peel P-50 Replica: A nod to the Guinness-record smallest production car ever made, 54 inches long and around 130 pounds, with no reverse gear (you drag it by a handle).
○ 2013 Peel Trident Replica: The bubble-topped, clear-domed two-seat sibling of the P50, a microcar that looks straight out of a 1960s space cartoon.
○ 1947 Tatra T87: The streamlined, air-cooled rear-V8 Czech saloon with a dorsal fin and a dark legend: so many German officers died driving its 100-mph chassis that they were reportedly banned from it.
○ 1963 Amphicar 770: The most successful amphibious car ever built, a convertible that swims on twin propellers and carries the highest tailfins of any production car.
Artomobilia runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, across the streets of downtown Carmel. Spectators are encouraged to visit the Lane Motor Museum display up close, support its 501(c)(3) educational mission, and plan a road trip south to experience the full collection in Nashville. For event details, schedules, and locations, visit artomobilia.org and discover more at lanemotormuseum.org.