Though Australians appear to share more with the British than with Americans, their auto industry historically has been closer to ours due to their love for the V8. Their home-brewed cars may not have looked like ours, but the exhaust notes often sounded like ours. If this sounds like your bag, the Gold Coast Muscle Car Museum is your new joint to see Aussie performance history and more.
The museum is “the most amazing private collection of Australian muscle cars” of the 1950-70s. Located in Bundall, Queensland, the museum gets its name from the nearby city of Gold Coast, which just so happens to be the sixth-largest in the country. On display are Chargers, Falcons of different stripes, SLR5000 Toranas (a type of Holden), and every Monaro model built from 1968-76 (yes, another Holden product).
And if you’re a Mad Max fan, there is a replica of the Interceptor, which was a highly modified Falcon from the 1970s. If you squint, you may see some 1972 Torino in it – clearly it’s a Ford product from the same era.
The same could be said of the Monaro, which also mimicked the design language of General Motors cars of the time, with the late 1960s ones often giving GM c.1968 vibes.
Besides the cars, there is a mag wheel display and a working tune-up machine from the 1970s.
Muscle bike enthusiasts are not left out as the museum has a Honda 750 Four and a Kwaka 900 (apparently, that’s a nickname for Kawasaki) on display.
Adding to the fun quotient are the free pinball machines and a fun Scalextric track. And if you get thirsty, a vintage soft drink machine (or “pop” to you Midwesterners).
To learn more about the Gold Coast Muscle Car Museum, visit www.musclecarmuseum.com.au.
