The Department of Culture has acquired a car manufactured by Nacional Pescara in 1929. This is a historic vehicle of particular heritage value, as it is the only complete example still remaining of the Catalan automotive marque. The vehicle will be added to the National Collection, for inclusion in the science and technology collection of the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia (MNACTEC).
At the request of the MNACTEC, and on the advice of the Claret Sargatal Foundation, the Department of Culture successfully bid in the public auction for the car, held on 5 October in Brussels as part of the Aguttes auction house's international sale of historic vehicles. The total cost of acquisition was €585,348.00.
The vehicle acquired is a racing car manufactured by the Catalan marque Nacional Pescara, registered in 1929, with 8 cylinders, 125 bhp and a 3-litre capacity engine turbocharged for competition.
Of all the vehicles manufactured by the company, this was the most notable in historical and technical terms, as it proved the marque's most competitive in international races in the first third of the 20th century, rivalling such makes as Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Packard, Chrysler etc. It stood out, among others, in the races of the European Mountain Championship (1931) and the Barcelona Grand Prix, on the Rabassada and Montjuïc circuits, with the drivers Enric Tort and Juan Zanelli behind the wheel.
As an artefact of Catalan industrial and technological heritage, the newly acquired Nacional Pescara is hugely significant given the importance of its automotive and technological development in Catalonia, as well as its unique status as the only complete car still preserved anywhere in the world from this Catalan manufacturer.
Nacional Pescara
Nacional Pescara was a noted vehicle manufacturer which operated between 1928 and 1934 in Barcelona. It was founded by Raul Pateras, Marquess of Pescara, born in Argentina to an Italian family with French nationality, but who spent almost all his life in Barcelona.
Raul Pateras was an eccentric investor involved in a number of aircraft and helicopter construction projects, and in applying for a great many industrial patents between 1917 and 1955. Together with his brother Enric, and with the support of King Alfonso XIII, in 1928 he set up Fábrica Nacional de Automóviles Pescara in Barcelona, more commonly known as Nacional Pescara. They built 4, 6, 8 and even 16-cylinder vehicles, with contributions from leading designers, mechanics and engineers from the most important automotive factories around the world.
Inclusion in the MNACTEC collection
Once the purchase has been formalised and the vehicle returned to Catalonia, it will form part of the National Collection and be placed at the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia, based in Terrassa, to become part of its major science and technology collection.
The Nacional Pescara car will be presented to the public during the coming months, to be featured in an exhibition of unique Catalan-manufactured vehicles from before the Civil War, such as Bonet, Elizalde, Hispano Suiza, David, Ricart, etc. to be staged at the MNACTEC in Terrassa. This set of vehicles has been added to the MNACTEC collection and its Territorial Structure of museums over recent years, and represents a notable collection of Catalan automotive cultural heritage.
The MNACTEC is a national museum with the mission of studying, interpreting, preserving, showcasing, publicising and presenting innovative and participatory displays of the establishment and evolution of scientific and technical advances, their industrial application, and more specifically their social impact and implications, offering an ongoing view of the past, present and future.
The National Collection
The National Collection is made up of cultural artefacts and documents acquired for public domain ownership over the years through different forms: direct purchases, gifts, pre-emptive purchase rights, bequests and assignments in payment.
This is made possible by the Department of Culture's National Fund for the Acquisition of Cultural Assets, a budgetary allocation for the public acquisition of artefacts of artistic, historical and cultural heritage interest, which over recent years has been increased, to a figure of €5 M in 2023.
These acquisitions are made in order to enrich and complete the public collections of Catalonia, and to safeguard heritage. The exhibits are held at a number of museums around Catalonia, mainly the national and national interest museums, the National Archive of Catalonia, the Library of Catalonia, and other heritage facilities.
Photo: Aguttes
11 October 2024
