A major exhibit at the Petersen. Another at its own museum. A grand gathering at Goodwood. A huge display of red cars at Pebble Beach.
Ferrari and its faithful really know how to celebrate a milestone birthday. In this case, the 70th anniversary of the first time Enzo shared his last name with one of the cars he’d created.
Next up for Ferrari 70 is “Ferrari: Under the Skin,” a major exhibition that runs November 15 through April 15, 2018, at the Design Museum in London.
“Ferrari’s story has been one of the great adventures of the industrial age,” Andrew Nahum, the exhibit curator, said in a museum news release. “It also represents an absorbing case study in design and development.
“Ferrari uses the subtle and often unseen techniques of automobile design but with the utmost care and precision, and the exhibition provides an insight into the history and practice of the whole private world of automotive design.”
According to the museum, its exhibition will be a “behind-the-scenes look at the design, the people and the engineering that created one of the most iconic car brands of all time.”
Many of the artifacts and vehicles in the London showcase will be coming from the exhibit that has been running at the Ferrari museum in Italy.
“The exhibition will provide unique insights into the world of Ferrari, drawing on rarely seen material,” according to the Design Museum’s news release. “This ambitious display will bring together early design models, drawings, letters and memorabilia as well as some of the most famous Ferraris to be seen on roads and racing circuits around the world. Together, these artifacts and original documents provide an unprecedented study of automotive design.
“Key exhibits include rare personal memorabilia and archival material relating to Enzo Ferrari’s life, early cars, wind tunnel models and hand-sculpted models in both clay and wood.
“Dedicated displays will explore the design development, engineering and manufacturing of Ferrari together with the company’s phenomenal attention to detail in every element of the cars’ design. The exhibition will also present Ferrari’s racing heritage, the ongoing quest for innovation as well as the glamour of their well-known clientele.”
The London museum is itself a piece of art. Originally established in a former banana ripening warehouse, the facility’s space tripled in 2016 with its move to a restored and expanded modernist structure on Kensington High Street topped by a roof that reminds people of a manta ray.
For more information, visit the museum website.
Special exhibits perhaps closer to home
The Cars from Transformers exhibit at America On Wheels in Allentown, Pennsylvania, includes more than Bumblebee and Megatron, though the yellow Chevrolet Camaro and big semi tractor are worth a visit on their own. But joining them are Rollbar, a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS Rally from the Age of Extinction movie and Sideswipe, the 50th anniversary Corvette Stingray concept from Revenge of the Fallen and a car that provided strong hints at the design of the latest generation of America’s sports cars. The exhibit runs through December 31.
Fresh from its crowd-drawing, balancing-on-two-wheels drive to the awards stand at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the 1967 Gyro-X is on display at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville.
“The Gyro-X was an important car in the history of automotive design and to win the Dean Batchelor Trophy (at Pebble Beach) is a validation of that importance and the work we have put into restoring it,” said car and museum owner Jeff Lane.
The Batchelor award is given at Pebble Beach for a car exemplifying the “rebellious spirit” of the hot rod heritage.
Special events this weekend
The Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine will host a special two-wheeler cars and coffee cruise-in Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon featuring motorcycles, dirt bikes, scooters and more.
Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, Massachussets, stages its annual “Cocktails for Cars,” concours-style gathering of “high-end” classics and exotics. Proceeds from the event support the maintenance and care of the museum’s automobile collection. On Thursday, September 21, the museum will host its Demo Day with a curator presentation of four “hidden gems” from the museum’s collection, including a 1905 Pierce Great Arrow.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Muscle Car City in Punta Gorda, Florida, has canceled its car show scheduled for Saturday and the Revs Institute’s Collier Collection museum in Naples, Florida, remains without power and still has evacuated staffers trying to return to their homes so the museum will be remain closed until power and staffing return.
The Automobile Driving Museum in Los Angeles stages its second “JDM at the ADM” car show Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The show features Japanese Domestic Market vehicles.
The California Automobile Museum joins with the Sacramento, California, branch of Universal Technical Institute for the inaugural Campus Car Show on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The Blackhawk Museum will host the annual Danville d’Elegance gala dinner Saturday on the eve of the annual concours d’elegance in Danville, California. Special guest for the event will be Grammy-winning musician Linda Ronstadt.
Mark your calendars
The National Corvette Museum’s Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, offers its inaugural Kartplex Racing League program this fall. Participants will compete in three weight classes — up to 149 pounds, 150-200 and 201 or heavier — with points accumulated over four dates — September 23, October 7, October 21 and November 4.
The annual Night at the Museum, a gala and fundraiser for the Children’s Education & Transportation Fund, which since 1991 has providing for Bay Area classrooms to visit the Blackhawk Museum is scheduled for October 15.
