The Porsche Museum in Germany has opened a special exhibition, “50 Years of Porsche Development at Weissach,” that runs until December 5.
“Every Porsche model comes from the same birthplace: the Weissach Development Centre,” the museum notes. “The area, which covers around 100 hectares, is synonymous with cutting-edge technology as well as passion, engineering skill and innovation.
“The Development Centre, which started operations in 1971, includes the areas of design, motorsport, various test rigs and the in-house test track.” It also houses the Porsche wind tunnel.
“Sports cars for the road and thoroughbred race cars have been developed in Weissach for half a century,” Achim Stejskal, head of Porsche heritage and the museum, is quoted. “Dreams are designed, created and tested in the middle of idyllic countryside.”
The centerpiece of the exhibit is the use of augmented reality technology designed to enable museum visitors to digitally experience various aspects of the Weissach process.
“The company owes the decisive tip for the later premises of the Development Centre to its then employee and racing driver Herbert Ling,” the museum notes. “In January 1960, he drew Porsche’s attention to the overgrown piece of ground in Weissach and Flacht, which appeared to be of no value for agriculture. The ground-breaking ceremony then took place one and a half years later. In 1962, a test track was put into operation there, and nine years later the Research and Development Centre was opened.”
A perk for Gilmore museum visitors
From August 16-20, visitors to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, will receive a free small frozen custard when they stop at George & Sally’s Blue Moon Diner, the vintage dining establishment on the Gilmore campus.
The museum is promoting “Hot Days, Cool Treats, A ‘Summer Vacation Special’” with its offer, which is good from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., except on August 18, when there will be another period, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the Wednesday Night Cruise-In.
ACD Museum readies for ACD Festival
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival is back after a pandemic-forced hiatus, and the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum appears eager for the northeast Indiana festival’s return.
The museum will take part in the annual garage cruise August 29, opening its collections, conservation center and storage facility for those on the tour. The National Auto & Truck Museum will be open as well.
The ACD museum will host a free outdoor concert September 2 featuring the Sweetwater All Stars.
From 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. on September 3, racer Lyn St. James will be at the museum for a meet and greet.
The museum also will host the Connecting Rods Lunch and Gatsby Gala, both on September 4.
George Barris workshop for sale
It’s not an official museum, but it could be. The 10,000-square-foot Barris Kustom Industries building in North Hollywood, California, where the late George Barris and his brother, Sam, created so many television and movie cars, is for sale.
The building is on a corner lot, and the asking price is slightly less than $4 million.
Supercars big attraction at Beaulieu
More than 600 cars and more than 15,000 spectators turned out this past weekend for the 10th annual Beaulieu Supercar Weekend at the National Motor Museum in England. The show field featured supercars as early as pre-war 4.5-litere Bentleys to the Jaguar XJ220 of the 1990s and the most recent high-performance vehicles from around the world.
But in addition to being arrayed on the Beaulieu grounds, cars did tire-squealing runs on Chestnut Avenue, and took part in a sound-off competition that was anything but sound off.
There also was a special showcase for so-called super SUVs.
Smoking tires on Chestnut Avenue 
Sound-off competition
Special events this weekend
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has special hours during the Brickyard weekend August 13-15, when access and parking also will be altered, with those entering after 1 p.m. also needing a Brickyard admission ticket. There is an exception, however, for the 100 cars registered for the Special Edition IMS Museum Cars & Coffee on August 14.
The Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine hosts a cars and coffee cruise-in August 14 from 9 a.m. until noon, featuring Ford-produced vehicles, though all brands are welcome. Museum admission is free during the show.
“Summer Swing Nights: Back to the Museum” return to the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, California, on August 14 with live entertainment by The Swing Tones and special guest Antonia Bennett, and by the Los Angeles Swing Dance Posse with Chester Whitmore. Free swing-dance lessons are included with admission.
The Petersen Automotive Museum concludes its virtual car week August 14 on its YouTube channel.
It’s a “Hoods Up” weekend August 14-15, at the Newport Car Museum in Rhode Island.
The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, England, celebrates the life of “the voice of Formula 1,” broadcaster Murray Walker, on August 14 with an evening event featuring iconic 2- and 4-wheel racing vehicles.
More than 450 vintage vehicles are expected for the “Classic and Vintage Commercial Show” scheduled for August 14-15 at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon. That, along with a vintage commercial vehicle swap meet, takes place outside. Inside the museum will be two large model vehicle shows featuring the National Association of Road Transport Modellers.
Mark your calendar
The Mustang Owner’s Museum in Concord, North Carolina, is organizing a road trip to the Woodward Dream Cruise in the northern Detroit suburbs. Cars will gather in Dayton, Ohio, on August 17, visit the Gale Halderman Museum, and then head to Dearborn, Michigan.
The Owls Head Transportation Museum in Maine hosts and benefits from the 43rd annual New England Auto Auction August 18-21.
Opening August 19 at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland: “Year of the Motorcycle,” a traveling exhibit from the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Alabama. The showcase will be the first for 2-wheelers at the Ohio museum. When the traveling exhibit departs, the Crawford will unveil its own “Open Road: The Lure of Motorcycling in Ohio” exhibition.
The cars in the Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine will provide the setting for a recital August 21 at 5 p.m. by cellist Sebastian Stoger.
In perhaps the biggest Demo Day yet at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, on August 21 the theme will be “There Were There — The Simeone Cars that Raced Le Mans.” More than a dozen cars — actually, 16 at last count — will take part in the parking-lot exercise session. They range from a 1929 Stutz Model M Supercharged Le Mans to a 1970 Porsche 917 LH.
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in northeast Indiana stages its second “Duesies & Movies” drive-in theater event of the season August 21, showing Dick Tracy.
The California Automobile Museum in Sacramento hosts its Third Saturday car show August 21, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Featured this month will be the Old Illusions, a club focused on pre-1954 lowriders.
It’s AutoFest 2021 on August 22 at the Newport Car Museum in Rhode Island, where the Mass Cruisers Auto Club (that’s Mass as in Massachusetts) stages a showcase featuring more than 500 vehicles.
It’s “Simply Mercedes” with a showcase for Mercedes-Benz vehicles August 22 at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England.
Feature marque in the parking lot car show at the Newport Car Museum on August 29 will be from the Mopars of RI club.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is the beneficiary of “Revolante: A Celebration of Revolutionary Automobiles,” scheduled from noon until 5 p.m. (Eastern) on August 29 at the Bridgewater Club in Carmel, Indiana. The event marks the conclusion of the 2021 Artomobilia Weekend.
The National Corvette Museum’s 27th anniversary celebration runs September 2-4. At a dinner event September 2, Bowling Green assembly plant manager Kai Spande will host a panel discussion about “Small Block Power” featuring Jordan Lee, global chief engineer for the famed Chevy small-block V8, and Dick Ruzzin, former Chevrolet and GM Europe director of design.
The Corvette museum also opens a new exhibit, “24 at 20: Earnhardt, Corvette, and the Overall Win at Daytona,” on September 2. The exhibit opening features a seminar with racer Andy Pilgrim, former Corvette Racing manager Doug Fehan, and former Corvette Racing marketing manager Gary Claudio.
On September 11-12, in addition to its motorcycling exhibition, the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, will host a Heritage Throwback Weekend with pre-registered visitors invited to ride the newest BMW motorcycles.
The Brooklands Museum in England plans a special celebration of the life of the late Stirling Moss on September 12 with more than 35 vehicles he raced on display.
The Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario, has something special planned for September 16 and is Third Thursday lecture series, which features “an Evening with Malcolm Bricklin,” chief executive of Visionary Vehicles and the person who brought to North America Subaru, Yugo and the Bricklin. The event will be presented via Zoom and a $10 donation to the museum is suggested as part of the registration process.
“Stirling Moss, The Champion that Wasn’t” is the theme for the September 18 Demo Day at Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia. Cars taking part in the parking lot exercise session include a 1953 Jaguar C-type and 1956 D-type, 1955 “Gullwing” Mercedes-Benz 300SL, 1956 Maserati 300S and 1958 Aston Martin DBR1.
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in northeast Indiana stages its third “Duesies & Movies” drive-in theater event of the season September 18, showing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The annual Saratoga Motorcar Auction at the Saratoga Automobile Museum in upstate New York is scheduled for September 24-25.
The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, resumes its annual “Night at the Museum” fundraiser on October 6 with a theme of “Cars and Country Music.” Troy Engle and Southern Skies will perform at the event that serves as the kickoff to “Fall Hershey.”
Herzog Motorsports, the Missouri-based racing team that has won in a variety of events, from off-road racing in Baja to Jimmie Johnson’s transition to stock car racing, will be honored October 15-16 in a special event at the Speedway Motorsports Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Does your local car museum have special events or exhibitions planned? Let us know. Email [email protected].
