Petersen Automotive Museum - July 2023

I recently visited Petersen with my sons (as we do at least once per quarter) and was struck by the cars on display. I’m posting some of the more interesting ones here:

1967 Ford GT40 Mark III. street-legal version of Ford’s Le Mans-winning, Ferrari-crushing GT40 race car. This one is one of seven Mark IIIs built.

1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7 by Bertone. One of three B.A.T.s built, Built on a Alfa Romeo 1900 chassis and body by Bertone. This one is one of three built.

1913 Mercer Type 35_J Raceabout. This one was featured on Jay Leno’s show several years ago and can still be found on YouTube. One of the U.S.’ first sports car. It was a stock racer and could be bought, driven home and raced on the same day.

1954 Plymouth Explorer, body by Ghia. A one-off designed to test new styling ideas. Hand-built coachwork and ha leather upholstery, which was rare in American cars at the time.

1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica by Ghia. five-liter V-12. 162 mph. 340 hp. Only one built. Fins extend 18 inches above the rear fender line. Ferrari thought it was too much.

One trip simply wasn’t enough to properly capture everything, so we’ll be back soon. There’s also a Porsche display celebrating the 75th anniversary of Porsche, and it’s such an impressive display.