Car lovers rejoice! Start your engines and head to The Petersen Automotive Museum on L.A.’s Miracle Mile. It is back open following a $90 million renovation that lasted 13 straight months. Everything is brand new from the inside to the outside. A special grand opening ceremony was held on Thursday, December 3rd just a few days after the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show closed for the season. “We thought, you know what, we need to keep up,” said Leslie Kendall, a curator at the museum. “We need to do something different. We need to communicate our message in ways that we’ve not been doing for a while. Instead of gigantic dioramas, we’re kind of taking that car out the context. We’re putting cars in a place where they can be studied individually. They can take as deep of dive as they want into any particular topic. It’s how people learn today and that’s what we wanted to do.”
The Petersen is the first museum at the foot of Miracle Mile
A beautiful sunset outside the museum
2015 Tesla Model S P85D chassis
It can travel for 265 miles between charges.
ChargePoint EV charging cord
Edison EV charging station
Various fuel dispensers from gas to hydrogen
Alternative fuels color wheel
1939 Fiat 508C Balilla natural gas vehicle
Natural gas tanks were mounted on the roof
1948 Cadillac Seanette “CadZZilla”
It was one of many custom cars by ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons
1951 Mercury “Hirohata Merc” by Barris Kustom
Custom cars up in the air
1964 Chevrolet Impala “Sinful Sin”
1933 Ford “Possessed” by Scott’s Hot Rods
KODAK Digital Still Camera
It was customized by Bulletproof Automotive from Hawthorne, Calif.
2011 Ford Fiesta ST
It was featured in a YouTube series with rally driver Ken Block.
1957 Ferrari 625/250 Testa Rossa
It is considered to be the most winning Ferrari ever.
1933 Duesenberg Model SJ Arlington Torpedo sedan
A row of motorcycles
The Forza Motorsport Experience
A Racing Pioneer: 1926 Miller 91 Armacost Special
One of Alan Jones’ World Championship winning cars from the 1980 season.
Auto racing exhibit
1965 Ford engine restored by Ed Pink
Informational sign
1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ
Can-Am Competitor: 1970 McLaren M8D
It produces more than 825 hp and has a top speed of 200+ mph.
Map of race tracks in Southern California
Riverside Int’l Raceway as a former NASCAR track
Welcome to the “Cars” Mechanical Institute
Lightning McQueen race car
It makes a great photo opportunity
It’s a great spot to educate the little ones
1935 Voisin Type C25 Aerodyne
This car was first presented at the 1934 Paris Auto Salon.