Los Angeles is world famous for its long love affair with the automobile. Car culture has been part of the city's DNA for generations, and one of the best known destinations for gearheads is the spectacular Petersen Automotive Museum. But the Petersen isn't the only museum for car buffs. From classics to custom builds and hot rods, read on for extraordinary car collections on view at museums and showrooms across Los Angeles.
Petersen Automotive Museum
Located on Museum Row, the Petersen Automotive Museum houses one of the best collections of classic and modern cars in the world. From blockbuster exhibits to permanent displays, the whole family will enjoy a visit to the Petersen. If you're serious about cars, The Vault at the Petersen is a bucket list experience - an extraordinary collection of 300+ iconic and rare cars from around the world exhibited in a 60,000 square-foot underground space.
Galpin Auto Sports
Based in the San Fernando Valley since 1946, Galpin Motors is a family-owned, award-winning automotive collective that includes ten dealerships, Galpin Auto Sports (GAS), and the Horseless Carriage, "America’s first full-service, in-dealership restaurant."
Galpin Motors' renowned in-house customizing and aftermarket center, Galpin Auto Sports offers everything from window tinting to complete restorations and coach building - taking the wildest ideas from concept art to reality. Not mentioned on the GAS website, the showroom is a stunning display of dozens of customs, race cars, hot rods and more. Highlights include a "barn-find" 1965 Shelby Mustang GT-350, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Orbitron, the famed Galpin Ford GTR1, a 1933 Duesenberg, and the outrageous Pink Panthermobile.
The Nethercutt Collection
Founded by J.B. and Dorothy Nethercutt in 1971, The Nethercutt Collection features over 250 American and European automobiles dating from 1898 to 1997. Unique to automobile museums, each car on display is serviced to maintain its original, drivable showroom condition. The entire collection is housed in two exhibition facilities, the Museum and the Collection. The Nethercutt Museum showcases more than 130 of the world’s greatest automobiles, including many winners of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and cars once owned by movie stars, royalty and other notable figures. Outside the Museum are a meticulously restored 1937 steam locomotive and a 1912 Pullman Private Car, which was owned by the eldest daughter of Santa Anita Racetrack founder, “Lucky” Baldwin.
Spanning four floors, The Nethercutt Collection recreates an opulent automotive grand salon of the 1920s and '30s, featuring an amazing collection of antique and classic cars, automobile "mascots," antique furniture, clocks and watches, and one of the world's finest collections of Mechanical Musical Instruments. Admission to The Nethercutt Museum & Collection facilities is free.
Porsche Experience Center
Located in Carson, the Porsche Experience Center (PEC) is a 53-acre venue with a four-mile driver development track, state-of-the-art driving simulators, a retail store with exclusive PEC branded merchandise, and fine dining at Restaurant 917. Drivers can pilot the latest Porsche models through eight different driving modules. Inside the 50,000 square-foot building, which is also the new home of Porsche Motorsport North America, guests can get an insider’s look at historic Porsche race cars and the workshop team.
Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum
Presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum opened to the public in April 1998. A longtime dream of National Hot Rod Association founder Wally Parks, the museum is housed in a 28,500-square-foot building on the edge of the Fairplex in Pomona. The museum displays an impressive collection of vintage and historically significant racing vehicles, photographs, trophies, helmets and driving uniforms, artifacts, paintings, and other memorabilia chronicling more than 60 years of American motorsports.