There’s been Titanic II, even an A-League club.
And who can forget Jeff, the ill-fated animatronic Tyrannosaurus rex?
Now colourful billionaire Clive Palmer has approval for his latest unexpected venture – Australia’s biggest car museum.
Just weeks after it appeared to stall, Mr Palmer’s display of vintage vehicles worth more than $200 million is now set to be on show at a property west of Brisbane.
The mining magnate pulled the pin on a planning application to build the ambitious project at his Palmer Coolum Resort on the Sunshine Coast in June after locals claimed it would be an “eyesore”.
Instead, he set his sights on a property near Lowood, a 90-minute drive from Brisbane.
The local Somerset Council on Wednesday officially approved the project that will feature more than 1000 cars and 300 motorcycles.
“We are hoping it provides a tourism boost for the region,” Somerset Mayor Jason Wendt told AAP.
Mr Palmer is no stranger to bold ideas.
The former politician was the owner of A-League club Gold Coast United for three seasons from 2009 before its licence was revoked following his running battle with the governing body.
He also dabbled in tourism, scattering more than 150 replica dinosaurs next to his Coolum resort in a theme park dubbed “Palmersaurus”.
Hailed as the “world’s largest dinosaur park”, its drawcard was Jeff, a 10m animatronic T-rex that had a fiery extinction in 2015 when it burnt down due to an electrical fault.
Then there’s Titanic II.
The one-time senator in March announced it was full steam ahead – again – for his plan to build the Titanic replica and recreate the doomed cruise, 11 years after first floating the idea.
Mr Palmer is now all revved up to build the country’s biggest car museum following the council’s development application approval.
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The Lowood site will feature 11 buildings for vehicle display along with 10 accommodation units, a cafe and a gift shop.
The museum’s gross floor area is 43,000sq m, about the size of four NRL fields.
It is set to eclipse South Australia’s National Motor Museum as the nation’s biggest car display.
The project is expected to create about 80 jobs during construction – which is set to start in 2025 – and employ about 30 full-time staff.
“We are excited about the opportunities this poses for the region,” Mr Wendt said.
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