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Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.

Harry Metcalfe finds out if the Lamborghini Huracan lives up to the Countach

Former Evo editor Harry Metcalfe might not be as prolific with his Harry's Garage videos as Jay Leno, but the Brit certainly makes up for not releasing continual content with quality, knowledge and passion. Already a Lamborghini fan, Metcalfe is now getting behind the wheel of the Huracan and positions it side by side with his own Countach. Metcalfe brings two fascinating focuses to his videos that you don't often see in clips like this. First, he loves the details, and you get looks at sometimes-ignored elements of the Huracan like its stalkless steering wheel layout and door handle design. Also, he treats part of his drive like a buyer's guide and suggests what option boxes to tick or leave alone. Among those, Metcalfe has absolutely nothing nice to say about Lamborghini's variable ratio steering system, and this one features the standard rack. Unfortunately, you do have to deal with some road noise during Metcalfe's drive that can make him somewhat difficult to hear. The advantage is that once he's out of town, viewers get an earful of the Huracan's screaming V10 engine. Related Video:

Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato and GMC Acadia driven | Autoblog Podcast #837

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Electric, John Beltz Snyder. They're both jazzed after driving the off-road-ish and totally sublime Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. John recently drove the new GMC Acadia, Greg spent some time in the Toyota Camry, and they also discuss Autoblog's long-term Subaru WRX. In the news, the Porsche 918 Cayman and Boxster are reportedly ending production, while it's officially the end of the road for the Nissan GT-R and Volvo S60. Fisker has officially filed for bankruptcy. Cadillac has shown off a couple cool Blackwing special editions in honor of Le Mans. Finally, we reach in the mailbag and help a listener pick a sporty convertible in this week's Spend My Money segment. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #837 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: 2024 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato 2024 GMC Acadia 2025 Toyota Camry Long-term 2023 Subaru WRX Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster allegedly end production in October 2025 2024 Nissan GT-R the final year for the U.S. market 2025 Volvo S60 the last model year for the sedan in the U.S. Fisker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 'Le Monstre' and CT4-V Blackwing Petit Pataud limited editions celebrate Le Mans Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Podcasts Cadillac Fisker GMC Lamborghini Nissan Porsche Subaru Toyota Volvo Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Supercars Sedan