Los Angeles, Cal. – As part of its premiere in December, the newly redesigned Petersen Auto Museum reopened its legendary subterranean Vault, giving visitors a chance to tour a huge trove of rare and historic cars. Tours are limited to 20 people or less and are conducted by knowledgeable guides well versed in the museum’s history and the treasures in its collection. Access to the Vault is via a staircase to the museum’s basement, where visitors are warned in no uncertain terms that photographs are not permitted. (Photos for this article from LAist.com)

Hidden beneath the museum, the Peterson Vault offers an entire city block’s worth of automotive history, featuring more than 120 famous and infamous vehicles on display as well as the workshops where the cars are restored and maintained. On the private tour, the Petersen guide gives you an up-close look and the opportunity to learn about everything from Big Daddy Roth’s ground-breaking 1959 custom “The Outlaw” to the first-ever bulletproof presidential limo (a 1942/46 Lincoln used by FDR and Harry Truman).

From custom hot rods to elegant Art Deco-inspired rides, cars driven by movie stars on and off-screen, and even a Popemobile, there’s plenty for everyone to explore. And the Vault’s capable tour guides provide the fascinating histories and fun facts behind the collection.

The Vault affords the museum space to store, protect and restore their massive collection and to keep vehicles in prime condition for future exhibits. Taking the tours through the space allows visitors to peer behind the curtain and see tons of stunning and historic vehicles in what feels like somebody’s secret bunker.

“Even after the renovation when we opened up the third floor as a display space, we only have room for 135 cars on display in the museum,” explains the Petersen’s Executive Director Terry L. Karges in a release about the Vault. “That leaves over 300 vehicles we cannot display in the museum—all with incredible stories that need telling.”

Among the highlights of the tour was, of course, the gold-plated DeLorean, with just 10 miles on the odometer and one of only three built by the company for a special American Express promotion as well as Frank Sinatra’s personal 1965 Barris-customized Zebra Mustang, which has faux-zebra fur on both the interior and exterior, as well as a small TV in the console.

The Vault tour is organized sequentially, beginning with the museum’s oldest vehicles including a 1913 De Dion, a 1907 Cadillac Tourer, and a 1911 American Underslung roadster; followed by the industry evolving after WWI with such cars as the air-cooled 1924 Franklin, a front-wheel drive 1929 Ruxton Model C Roadster and practical 1932 Model A Woody station wagon. Man’s early quest for speed is embodied in the powerful 1923 7.2 liter Mercedes Targa Florio, the sleek 1929 DuPont Model G Speedster and one-of- a-kind 1927 Pedroso roadster with wicker patio-chair seats. The tour moves on to the museum’s Parade Cars built for heads of state including Saddam Hussein, Juan Peron, Leonid Brezhnev and the Pope’s specially built Cadillac as well as FDR’s first armored limousine ordered after Pearl Harbor.

Although a number of the museum’s “crown jewels” such as the “Round-Door” Rolls Phantom I and Steve McQueen’s XKSS are currently displayed in the public areas of the museum, a surprising number are stored in the Vault. These include the black 1952 Ferrari 212 Barchetta, ordered by the Ford Motor Company for Henry Ford II, it is the last Barchetta ever built and the last non-racing Ferrari bodied by Touring. Absolutely original down its white wall tires by Firestone, many of the car’s styling cues were transferred to the early T-Birds including the egg crate grill.

Another rare gem, the museum’s 1948 Tucker Torpedo, was Preston Tucker’s personal car donated by his family, one of only 50 cars produced. The short-lived Tucker was the most advanced car of its time incorporating safety features such as seat belts, a central headlight that turned with the front wheels and rear-mounted flat six helicopter engine.

The vault is also home to tons of famous movie and TV cars which are rotated into the exhibit in the main building. These include the “Thelma & Louise” 1966 T-Bird convertible, “Magnum PI’s” 1982 Ferrari 308 GTSi specially custom-fit for star Tom Selleck, the bright yellow 1971 De Tomaso Pantera which Elvis shot bullet holes in when it would not start, and the star-car 1946 Ford “Grease Lightning” from the movie version of “Grease”.

There are also an amazing number of famous hot rods and customs including multiple America’s Most Beautiful Roadster winners notably the innovative 1927 Ford “XR6”commissioned by Hot Rod Magazine in 1963, the 1933 Ford “Impact” designed by Chip Foose which won in 2001 and the futuristic custom “Alien” by the Himsl Brothers winner in 1969. These share the garage with Italian-American hybrids such as Rita Hayworth’s 1953 Series 62 Cadillac by Ghia, a 1959 Corvette Italia prototype designed and built by Scaglietti and a 1953 Nash-Healey by Pinin Farina. In between are random rare collectibles including Steve McQueen’s 1952 Hudson Wasp coupe, the unique 1953 Bosley GT Mark I which sports a 55-gallon fuel tank for long distance racing and an original prototype Porsche “901” which was a test vehicle for the 911 model and is believed to be only one of five surviving cars.

From hot rods and concept cars to the automobiles of Hollywood, the Petersen Vault is truly fitting for a city that is one of the world capitals of car culture. It is highly recommended to stop in for a peek when you visit Petersen Automotive Museum the next time you’re in Los Angeles.
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located at 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile, (323) 930-2277. Vault tour tickets are $20 and must be purchased with a general admission ticket. Children under 13 are not permitted on vault tours, sorry kids. More information and tickets can be found here.
Article compiled by Nick Ord, New England Auto Museum
Contact: [email protected]
Content and photos from the Petersen Automotive Museum, LAist.com & LA Times

Los Angeles, Cal. – The façade of the former department store on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue housing the Petersen Automotive Museum has been wrapped in sporty “hot-rod red” aluminum and caged by hundreds of shiny stainless-steel ribbons. Like a flashy sports car, it’s impossible to miss.

Proponents of the Petersen’s eye-catching new shell, designed by New York’s Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, say the flowing steel ribbons represent motion, elegance, aerodynamics and speed, traits on full display inside the museum. “L.A. is the car capital of the world, and Wilshire Boulevard is the main street,” says Peter Mullin, the Petersen’s chairman of the board. “We may be a little biased, but we feel it will be one of the most iconic buildings in Los Angeles. You’re not going to drive by it and forget that you saw it.”

The original main floor exhibit entitled “Streetscape”, dioramas that were a mainstay of the museum for its first 20 years, has been replaced with soaring new galleries devoted to automotive artistry. Visitors can discover the most artfully-designed vehicles ever built, often regarded as “rolling sculptures” and explore how the automobile has been used as a canvas for artistic expression. The exhibits will be rotated and exchanged periodically much like in traditional fine art museums.

Welcoming visitors at the entrance level Grand Concourse is the museum’s massive 1927/34 Rolls-Royce “Round Door” Phantom I, a multiple major concours winner, beautifully re-restored by museum founders and benefactors Robert and Margie Petersen. Mr. Petersen, founder of a publishing empire which included Hot Rod and Motor Trend magazines had one lasting vision to build an educational museum to honor the automobile. The Petersen’s initial $16 million gift made that possible, and the 300,000 square foot Petersen Automotive Museum opened on June 11, 1994 in partnership with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. In March 2000, they formed the Petersen Automotive Foundation with an additional $25 million gift to make the museum an independent entity.

Proceeding into the museum itself, the cavernous Grand Salon features “French Curves”, European coachbuilders’ artistic renditions, many on loan from Mr. Mullen including his nearly priceless Bugatti Type 57C Atlantic coupe and works by French coach building masters including Figoni & Falaschi, Chapron and Vanvooren. An adjacent gallery, also devoted to art and the automobile as a canvas for artistic expression, features BMW’s famous art cars adorned with work by talents such as David Hockney, Alexander Calder and Matazo Kayama.

Also on the ground floor, the old Petersen had a ‘50’s drive-in style Johnny Rockets hamburger restaurant, to be replaced in the spring by a stylish new bistro run by the Drago brothers, owners of celebrity hangout Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills; the upgrade represents some of the broader changes made at the museum to portray a more contemporary look and feel.

Twenty-five new galleries on three floors are packed with interactive technology telling three overarching stories about the automobile: its history, its industry and its artistry. On the second floor, visitors can explore the diversity of automotive design and technology and see cars that have been modified for speed and efficiency.

The Industry floor is all about Pixar. This is where visitors can park the kids for the majority of the day. At the center of the gallery is the Cars Mechanical Institute, where after snapping a photo-op with a life-size Lightning McQueen, the crew can be unleashed into the Discovery Center. Little ones love racing toy cars around the racetrack play table, while the older kids can use light tables and tablets to draw and decorate cars from the Pixar films.

From there, visitors can head to the center kiosk and check out the CARSpad Experience. Junior car enthusiasts receive bright orange covered iPads that they can use to navigate their way around the gallery, featuring exhibits on Vehicle Manufacturing & Design and Custom Cars, as Mater guides them in designing their own virtual race car. It’s where little tech fans and young gear heads alike will thrill with the “how things work” learning adventure.

For kids in the tween and teen set (or just a video-game loving Dad), there’s the Forza Motorsport Racing Experience, an Xbox gallery equipped with 13 gaming simulators inviting guests to virtually race on tracks in Daytona, Le Mans and many more. Participants can race against the clock on the popular arcade-style game for a chance to get their names on the Lap Time scoreboard. Wait times can be up to 30 minutes and drivers must be approximately 5 feet tall in order to reach the pedals. First thing in the morning or late afternoon are the best times to go to beat the line.

On the History floor, visitors can explore the multi-faceted history of the automobile and the love for it through the generations. There’s the collection of Tinseltown cars that has been a main draw of the museum since it opened 20 years ago. “Mr. Petersen had a passion for Hollywood and automobiles,” museum collection manager Dana Williamson has said of museum founder Robert E. Petersen, who died in 2007 and whose love of cars can be traced to his founding of Hot Rod magazine in 1948. “He particularly liked the connection between Hollywood cars and the stars that owned them.

Visitors to Cars of Film and Television will see a 1951 Chrysler-built Camera Car, one of two given to the RKO movie studio owned at the time by Howard Hughes, Walter White’s dilapidated 2004 Pontiac Aztec from the TV show “Breaking Bad” and the 20-foot-long sinister black Batmobile piloted by Michael Keaton in the1989 and 1992 “Batman” movies. Other highlights include the 1961 “Herbie” VW Beetle, the 2016 Aston Martin DB10 featured in the latest James Bond film, “Spectre,” and Steve McQueen’s 1956 Jaguar XKSS.

This last car is among the museum’s most prized acquisitions. Only 16 of the cars were built before the Jaguar factory had a catastrophic fire, and in 1959 McQueen implored his wife (the main breadwinner at the time) to buy it for $5,000. McQueen vehicles are commanding sky-high prices at auction, so the car is worth at least eight figures, the museum says.

Also in the museum’s possession from Steve McQueen’s collection are a 1952 Hudson Wasp coupe, one of the sleekest American cars of its day, and two historic motorcycles, a 1927 Indian Big Chief and a 1912 Indian Single. These vehicles reside in the museum’s hidden basement “Vault”, which will be the subject of the second part of this article.

When the old Petersen closed in late 2014, it had seven flat-screen TVs. It now has more than 160 types of screens, including 35 interactive touchscreens and an 8-by-20-foot LED billboard. Some of the 47 projectors play clips from films behind the cars that were featured in them.

Museum managers and its interior design team traveled to 32 museums around the world to study automotive-related exhibits and find out which features best resonated with patrons. Education and outreach became a big part of the museum’s mandate which is to be the center of automotive thought in California and beyond.

Next week: Part II “The Vault” reopens at the new Petersen

Article compiled by Nick Ord, New England Auto Museum
Photos by Nick Ord unless otherwise indicated; Contact [email protected]
With content and images from the Petersen Automotive Museum, L.A. Times & Red Tricycle

 

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