Travels Near Mid-County: Kemp Auto Museum Sports Rare Cars

Walking into the showroom at the in Chesterfield is like stepping back in time to an era when cars were called roadsters and friends lounged in the rumble seat to get a little air.

The museum, west of and , has dozens of gleaming automobiles nestled side by side on a polished black tile showroom floor that reflects the cars’ images as if they were parked next to water. It opened in 2006 primarily to showcase an impressive collection of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

“This is the only automobile museum in the United States that features Mercedes-Benz automobiles,” museum curator Rodger Van Ness said. “What you’ll see are some of the rarest in the world.”

The museum also includes such auto industry stalwarts as Rolls Royce, Bentley, Cadillac, Jaguar and Packard.

Van Ness, a retired railroad executive who is also a car collector, works at the museum as a labor of love. Like all car enthusiasts, he enjoys being around these classic beauties.

He approaches a replica of the first car former bicycle maker Karl Benz ever made—the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen—and admires its simple three-wheeled functionality and modest engine.

“This is what started it all,” he said, smiling. “If he hadn’t invented this I’d have more money, but I don’t think I’d have had as much fun.”

To spread the word about the museum to other parts of the country, Van Ness takes cars from the display to "Concours d' elegance" car shows around the country—destinations such as Pebble Beach, CA and Amelia Island, FL—where they certainly get noticed.

Around the corner in a main showroom packed with painstakingly restored prize winners, Van Ness stopped at a stunning white 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster. It has two seats plus a rumble seat, a white steering wheel with ivory-colored instrument panel and enough chrome to nearly require sunglasses for viewing.

“I’ve been around cars a long time,” Van Ness said. “I’ve never seen chrome like this.”

From both an engineering and an aesthetic standpoint, it is a marvel to behold.

“To build this car from scratch just blows my mind,” he said.

Other must-see autos in the collection include:

• A 1954 Mercedes-Benz Gullwing with doors that open up toward the roof. The Gullwing cost $7,000 new and is now worth somewhere between $600,000 and $1.2 million, Van Ness said.
• A 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III that is crimson red and features faux cane doors, leather seats and a maple-grained bar. The Phantom has a 448 cubic inch V12 engine, sleek lines and a regal, old-world bearing.

Van Ness said being curator at the museum is his "dream job" and added that the 40,000 visitors last year know what others have yet to discover.

“This is kind of a hidden treasure in St. Louis,” he said, “but it’s becoming more and more known.”