As the Merzouga car museum shows us, the desert makes us discover facets of life that are difficult to imagine in other urban and natural environments. In this case, we are talking about the transportation needed to travel along the dirt and stone tracks or even the sand dunes. In our circuits we use the most traditional means, the dromedary, but it is also feasible to travel these places in 4×4, a solution widely used for decades. This small town is home to one of the most interesting collections of off-road vehicles, and its visit will be of great interest to car and desert lovers.
What is and where is the Morocco National 4×4 Auto Museum?
The Morocco National 4×4 Auto Museum is the museum of off-road cars in Merzouga, the town that gives its name to one of the most beautiful parts of the Sahara in Morocco: the desert of Merzouga, next to the imposing dunes of Erg Chebbi. The rooms that make up the visitable enclosure occupy about 1,600 sq. m of space.2around a large exhibition corridor where all the vehicles are displayed one after the other.
The vehicles on display are all-terrain vehicles and the museum aims to show the public the enormous variety of 4×4 vehicles that have been used throughout history to traverse the surrounding desert which, due to the absence of paved roads and the unevenness of the terrain, has always required cars with very special characteristics.
Getting here is easy, as the museum is located at the foot of the N13 road, which gives access to Merzouga and separates this town from its sand dunes. The exact address of the site is 13 N13, about 560 km from Marrakech . Marrakechwhich is about 8 hours and a half from Marrakech.
The collection and its most outstanding vehicles
The vehicles that make up the collection of the car museum of Merzouga add up to a number of about 30 examples and have a varied origin, but certainly highlight those from the collection of the King of Morocco. That is why many of these vehicles are true luxury SUVs, full of interior comforts and with a careful exterior design.
In addition, there are other 4x4s that are striking for the rarity of its design, which is explained by being designed specifically for travel in the desert of Merzouga, either for military, logistical or other work. As for the manufacturers represented here, the Japanese stand out, such as Toyota, Nissan or Suzuki, but also the American Jeep, the British Range Rover and the French Peugeot and Citroën.
Of all the vehicles on display, the following are worth mentioning:
- Jeep Wrangler, an exclusive version of extreme width, with 9 seats in two rows, because in practice it is a double all-terrain vehicle.
- Jeep Wrangler, exclusive version of extreme narrowness, as it has only one seat and dimensions of just 1.89 meters wide, equivalent to half of a normal 4×4. This model and the previous one are presented side by side, which helps to reinforce the contrast between the two.
- 4H Automobiles Locust, which is actually a small single-seater electric car, used as a prototype for mobility in the desert.
- Ford A: if the previous model stood out for its futurism, at the opposite extreme is the Ford A, which stands out for its old and archaic design, since this series of vehicles was manufactured in the United States between 1927 and 1931.
In addition to these examples, there are many others of great interest, which can be seen up close, touched and even inspected inside. Undoubtedly, a curious visit for those interested in the world of off-road motoring.
