From Microcars to Rocket-Powered Rides, This Nashville Museum Celebrates Auto Oddballs

The Lane Motor Museum, Tennessee

Nashville might rock, but just down the road in Murfreesboro sits a totally different kind of music: the purr of rare engines.

The Lane Motor Museum houses America’s largest collection of European cars and some of the weirdest rides you’ll ever meet.

Here’s a peek into this awesomely eccentric Tennessee attraction.

From 70-Year-Old Bread Factory To Gearhead Paradise

Back in 2002, Jeff Lane took his 70-something car collection and transformed an old bread factory into what’s now the largest European car museum in America.

The place is massive, with 132,000 square feet of with high ceilings and original maple floors that’ll make architecture nerds drool almost as much as car enthusiasts.

They rotate through about 150 vehicles at a time from their 500+ collection, so you never get the same experience twice.

For twelve bucks (less if you’re a senior or kid), you’ll see stuff you literally cannot find anywhere else in the country, including the biggest collection of Czech cars outside Europe.

They’ve Got Dozens of These Cute Rides

The museum’s three-wheeler collection is so extensive they’ve dedicated an entire exhibit to these oddball vehicles through April 2026.

The star is probably the Davis Divan, which looks like an elongated bumper car but somehow fits four people side by side.

There’s also a two-headed 1952 Citroën that French firefighters actually used for two decades because they couldn’t turn around on narrow medieval streets.

Another highlight is the 1948 Larmar, which at just 28 inches wide is basically a car turned sideways.

The 11 AM Vehicle Demonstrations Are Awesome

Unlike most museums, Lane keeps about 90% of their collection in working order. Not just preserved but actually drivable.

Every single car gets an annual oil change and tune-up, and staff take them on local roads twice yearly to keep everything running.

They crank these babies up and let ’em rip every Thursday through Monday at 11 AM. It’s included with admission, and absolutely worth planning your visit around.

They’ll run different vehicles each day, but if you’re lucky enough to catch the propeller-powered Helicron demonstration, you’ll never forget it.

The Basement Vault Hides 400+ More Vehicles

For an extra ten bucks, you can take a weekend vault tour (11:30 AM or 2:30 PM) to see where they keep the other 400+ vehicles that don’t fit upstairs.

The basement is jam-packed with everything from race cars to prototypes that never made it to production.

The tour content changes constantly as they rotate vehicles, so even regular visitors discover new mechanical treasures.

By the end of 2025, they’re expanding into the current parking garage, which means even more eye candy on regular display,.

The LARC LX Makes Other Big Vehicles Look Like Hot Wheels Toys

Calling the LARC LX ‘big’ is like calling the Grand Canyon ‘a ditch.’

This 100-ton amphibious military beast sits outside behind the museum because it literally wouldn’t fit inside.

Built for the Vietnam War, it stretches 62 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 20 feet high, with tires that stand 9 feet tall.

It’s such a monster that each wheel has its own diesel engine.

Getting this beast to Nashville was an adventure all its own. They had to remove the driver’s cab, close down streets, and avoid every bridge in town while moving it in the middle of the night.

The museum staff used to actually crush cars with it during special events until they realized replacing a punctured 9-foot tire would be… problematic.

This Car is Smaller Than an Office Chair But Totally Street Legal

At the opposite end of the size spectrum, the museum’s 1964 Peel P-50 holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest production car ever made.

It’s comically tiny at 53 inches long, 39 inches wide, and weighing just 250 pounds.

There’s no reverse gear because you’re supposed to get out, grab a handle on the back, and physically turn it around when needed.

It’s so small that only one person fits inside, and barely at that.

Racing game fans might recognize it from titles like Forza, as it’s featured in the museum’s ‘Video Game Cars’ exhibit.

The P-50 is just one of many microcars they rescued when the famous Microcar Museum closed down.

You Can Actually DRIVE These Museum Pieces

Twice a year in October, Lane Motor Museum lets people drive their collection vehicles during ‘Rally for the Lane.’

This isn’t some parking lot loop. You get to take these rare birds on a full countryside route through Tennessee.

Prices range from $75 for common models to $1,250 for the ultra-rare stuff that causes bidding wars among enthusiasts.

Whatever you choose, you’ll get a driving lesson first, plus breakfast, lunch, a poster, t-shirt, and year-long museum membership.

You do need to be at least 25 with a valid license and insurance, which seems pretty reasonable when they’re handing you the keys to automotive history.

The Tatra Collection Could Make Czech Car Enthusiasts Weep With Joy

Most Americans have never heard of Tatra, but gearheads know them as innovative Czech manufacturers with some seriously advanced engineering.

These were luxury vehicles that chauffeured Czechoslovakian military officers around in style.

Lane houses 23 of these beauties, which is the largest collection in America. The showstopper is definitely the 1947 T-87 Saloon with its air-cooled rear engine, aerodynamic body, and distinctive tail fin.

Some of the Cars Look Like Death Traps

The museum has four of these death-wish-on-wheels, including the showstopping 1932 Helicron.

This wooden one-of-a-kind was found in a French barn in 2000 after hiding for 60+ years.

They’ve restored it with a Citroën engine, and it’s got actual Tennessee plates despite having a giant unshielded propeller that would absolutely turn pedestrians into hamburger.

The Helicron steers from the rear to make room for the prop and sounds like a low-flying airplane when running.

Other propeller-driven vehicles include the 1930 L’Eclair and, because why not, a propeller-powered bicycle.

Amphibious Vehicles Made the Cut, Too

The ‘Oil & Water’ exhibit showcases nine of these vehicles.

There’s the relatively famous 1964 Amphicar that normal people sometimes bought for weekend fun, but also military vehicles like the Soviet LuAZ 967M with its bizarre prone-driving position (so soldiers could steer while staying below enemy fire.

Perhaps the most surprising is the amphibious Citroën 2CV, a cheap French economy car converted to splash through lakes.

There Are Some Trippy-Looking Rides

The Dymaxion replica represents what might have been if famous architect Buckminster Fuller had revolutionized cars instead of creating geodesic domes.

This 20-foot teardrop-shaped oddity from 1933 looks like it rolled off a sci-fi movie set with its rear-wheel steering and aircraft-inspired body.

Despite its enormous length, it only seats four people. Jeff Lane says driving it requires ‘110 percent concentration’ because the steering is so problematic, and other drivers constantly try to photograph it, making road tests downright dangerous.

The museum still drives it twice yearly to keep it functional.

Displays Include One-Off Vehicles And Prototypes

Some of the most fascinating cars at Lane Motor Museum exist nowhere else on Earth.

Take the 1954 Martin Stationette, an all-wooden economy car that was supposed to revolutionize American driving but never made it past the prototype stage.

Or the mirror-finished Hewson Rocket that looks like it’s doing 100 mph while parked.

Don’t miss the Von Dutch Rocket Car, literally built from an old fighter jet fuel tank.

They’ve even got one of only two 1950 Iota 350 Sport vehicles ever manufactured.

A Clever Flag System Helps You Navigate the Museum

Look up while wandering the museum and you’ll notice national flags hanging from the rafters.

Cars from each country sit displayed under their respective flags, creating an organized world tour of automotive design.

The collection follows a comprehensive ‘A to Z’ approach, with vehicles representing nearly every letter of the alphabet from countries around the world.