The next generation: Jeroen de Jong, the Louwman Museum

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The Louwman Museum in The Hague has one of the finest (private) car collections but, unlike many other museums, most of the cars are there to be used — for example, at Goodwood, Mille Miglia, London-to-Brighton and Pebble Beach. Keeping them running is the job of 24-year-old Jeroen de Jong and his father Leon. And when we spoke to Jeroen, you could clearly tell how passionate he is!

The Louwman Museum

His enthusiast for cars began at a young age when he visited the museum (at the old location) and the workshop. His father started working on the collection 28 years ago, and when a vacancy arose two years ago Jeroen stepped in. He switched from his former job to preparing the cars for rallies and events as well as working around the museum.

It is a job, he says, that doesn't feel like work to him. Jeroen is in awe at the speed with which new techniques were developed and the different approaches taken by the various manufacturers. It can be a challenging job and he learns something new every day. He is amazed by the knowledge and expertise of these pioneers from 100 years ago. Jeroen also likes the fact that every car has its own story. Test driving is one of his great pleasures and he finds that the experience of PreWarCars just cannot be compared to modern cars or PostWarClassics. We saw him test drive the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Le Mans Touring, but his personal favourite is the car that was part of his maiden trip: the 1913 Bugatti Type 18 ‘Black Bess’. The sound of the 5-litre, 4-cylinder combined with the chain drive is, according to Jeroen, “like magic”. The car goes about at 150km/h — as it did in 1913! — which is impressive even in 2021.

Like us, Jeroen notices that his generation is less interested in the early cars. Together with environmental issues, this could become a problem in the future. However, Jeroen believes that people should understand that classic cars are a part of our cultural heritage and that an exception should be made for them so that in 50 years time it will still be possible to organise the Mille Miglia, Pebble Beach etc. And Jeroen hopes he will still be able to enjoy going to ‘work’ every day!

We thank Jeroen for sharing a glimpse of his working day and his passion with us.

Photos by Igor Stuifzand for Classic Cars Magazine.

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