Civil engineer Ole Sommer (1931-2018) ran a car business for more than fifty years and over time collected a number of vehicles and engines that bear the hallmark of his undisguised romantic attitude towards motoring and technology. This is reflected partly in the sporty cars from the most exciting periods of car design, namely the interwar years and the first twenty years after the Second World War. Partly in the car designs that he himself created based on Volvo technology and before him his father, Erik Sommer, who in 1950 used components from English manufacturers.
The collection also shows the relationship to the products that Ole Sommer's car dealership has dealt with. Jaguar, which was imported in the years 1946 to 1972. Volvo, which the company traded from 1957 until the sale to the Volvo factory in 2002. Finally, marine engines that the sister company Dansk Gardner Diesel imported from 1947 to 1993.
The choice of cars is also influenced by Ole Sommer's desire to illustrate technical development and to demonstrate how our ancestors experimented with precursors to many of the technical solutions of modern times long ago. Each car is described with technical specifications and historical highlights for the type in question and the specimen on display. The collection consists of almost 80 vehicles, most of them in running order, 30 car, aircraft and marine engines and just over two thousand model cars.
Motor history dissemination
The exciting story(s) of the many cars are told with great expertise by the Association of Motor History Intermediaries, a group of volunteers who are closely associated with the museum. The “Curators”, as they also call themselves, also arrange changing special exhibitions with varied content, mainly in the winter months. Examples of exhibition themes have been Danish-built racing cars in the forties, Citroën on the cutting edge, Cars from Bremen (Lloyd, Borgward, etc.) and the Jaguar XJ6. New special exhibitions are constantly being developed, often with the help of various Danish brand clubs.
During the summer months, when the veterans' old and well-maintained vehicles are to be aired out, visits or meetings for brand clubs are arranged, thereby creating a living outdoor exhibition for the enjoyment of the museum's other visitors.
Motor History Bookstore
The museum sells a selection of Danish books on motor history and related topics, such as the memoirs of a long-time trusted employee from his 54 years at the Sommer company. The selection also includes a biography of Ole Sommer and a DVD where Ole Sommer talks about most of the cars on display.