An exciting new attraction at Autoworld.
The start of the new year sees the creation of a brand new permanent section devoted to the motorcars from the unforgettable Belgian comic strip, The Adventures of Tintin.
The aura of the young reporter created by Hergé will attract a new public, both Belgian and international, to the museum, intrigued to discover the links between The adventures of Tintin and the motorcar.
The comic strip books of the renowned series created by Hergé are teeming with splendid vehicles. Overall, there are no less than 79 models featured in the 24 adventures.

Amongst which we have the renowned Model T Ford from “Tintin in the Congo”, the Lincoln Torpedo Grand Sport featured in “Cigars of the Pharaoh”, the Amilcar CGS from “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets”, the Opel Olympia of the Syldavian spies in “King Ottokar”s Sceptre” (carbon copy of the first car Hergé bought in 1938), the Impéria TA-7 in “The Crab with the Golden Claws”, Emir Ben Kalish Ezab’s Lancia Aprilia from “Land of Black Gold” not forgetting Cutts the butcher’s van and the 2CV of Thompson and Thomson, like the numerous cars gathered in front of Marlinspike Hall in “The Red Sea Sharks” … which featured an incredible…motorcar rally scene. 
Hergé was genuinely fascinated by motorcars. For him, the motorcar was an integral part in the domain of his imaginary stories. He made it a point of honour, depicting them with great attention to realism. As such we come across motorcars in all of the Tintin adventures, whether the latter was a driver or passenger, free or a prisoner.
On a personal front Hergé owned four of the motorcars featured in the adventurous years of his fictional creation. Conversely, Tintin was rarely the owner of the motorcars he drove, with the exception of the Model T Ford and the Amilcar CGS.

Did you know? 
Tintin’s renowned quiff is due to the sudden acceleration and speed in his first ever adventure, “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets”, published in 1929 in Le Petit Vingtième, the illustrated supplement of the Le Vingtième Siècle newspaper. To conjure up the impression of speed during a high-speed chase, Hergé drew a quiff. Since that memorable sequence that quiff has always remained.

Tintin’s motorcars at Autoworld

What other setting than that of the prestigious Autoworld museum in Brussels could pay better homage to the motorcars that accompanied Tintin on all of his travels?
The new permanent area opens as Tintin turns 93 (Tintin was born on 10^th January 1929).
Created with the support of the Loterie Nationale (*) and the Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, in partnership with Moulinsart and the Studios Hergé, this area is conceived as an evocation of the comic strip book. Thanks to a well thought out trompe-l’œil one enters Tintin’s motorcar world, via Cutts the butcher’s van. 
Eight window displays exhibit the scale models of the most iconic vehicles drawn by Hergé and a screen allows one to discover the making of a 3D scale model.
As icing on the cake, two life size cars – the Ford Model T as featured in “Tintin in the Congo” and the red Willys Jeep from “Land of Black Gold” – are exhibited at the entrance to the area.
 
Access to the area featuring Tintin’s motorcars is included in the admission ticket to the museum.

(*) Quote from the Loterie Nationale
“The Loterie nationale supports hundreds of projects that their players set their hearts on. As such we are proud, thanks to our players, to be in a position to help Autoworld realise this novel intiative.”