1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL at Gosford Classic Car Museum

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL at Gosford Classic Car Museum

For a country with only around 23 million people, Australia always impresses us with its ability to punch above its weight when it comes to car culture.

For decades it’s had its own models designed, developed and built locally; hosted a Formula One race plus its own V8 Supercars (now Supercars) series; and produced one of the greatest automotive cult classics of all time: Mad Max.

Now it has another honor: one of the world’s biggest car collections.

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1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL at Gosford Classic Car Museum

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL at Gosford Classic Car Museum

Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 3 at Gosford Classic Car Museum

Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 3 at Gosford Classic Car Museum

Ferrari LaFerrari at Gosford Classic Car Museum

Ferrari LaFerrari at Gosford Classic Car Museum

The Gosford Classic Car Museum, which opened its doors to the public over the weekend, is a privately-owned collection of 527 cars (detailed list here) that includes everything from the latest exotics like the LaFerrari to some real classic gems like the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL and 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Of course, there’s also some classic Australian muscle like the Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] Falcon GTHO Phase 3 and more recent HSV W427.

And as yet another sign of the richness of Australia’s car culture, around 95 percent of the collection is made up of cars bought within the country.

The Gosford Classic Car Museum, located about an hour by car north of Sydney, is owned by local resident Tony Denny. Denny made a fortune by building the biggest network of used car dealerships in Europe, AAA Auto, but today spends his days trawling the classifieds in search of new additions for the collection. It's definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the area.

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