Margie and Robert E. Petersen: Driven to Collect

Margie and Robert E. Petersen: Driven to Collect opens June 19, 2010

During his lifetime, Robert E. Petersen, together with his wife Margie, acquired dozens of important automobiles on behalf of the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Each one of these vehicles helps the Museum explore the history of the
automobile and the thriving car culture he helped create. Today the Margie and Robert E. Petersen
Collection contains one of the most diverse samplings of important vehicles
ever assembled. From stylish hot rods to
Presidential limousines, from elegant classics to vintage exotics, and from the
dramatic to the unusual, the Margie and
Robert E. Petersen: Driven to Collect exhibit features the highlights of
their amazing collection.

Vehicles on display include:

1925/34 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe "Round Door Rolls"

1927 Ford Hot Rod Magazine 50^th Anniversary Track T Roadster

1929 Ruxton Model C Roadster

1932 Duesenberg Model J Roadster by Murphy

1932 Ford Hot Rod "Ray Brown Roadster"

1939 Bugatti 57C by Vanvooren originally owned be the Shah of Iran

1942/46 Lincoln Presidential Limousine used by Presidents Roosevelt and Truman

1948 Tucker 48 originally owned by Preston Tucker

1952/56 Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton used by President Eisenhower

1952 Ferrari 212/225 Barchetta originally owned by Henry Ford II

1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia originally owned by Rita Hayworth, and seen in Iron Man 2

1953 Cunningham C-3 Vingale Coupe

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing" Coupe

1959 Scimitar retractable hard top designed by Brooks Stevens

1967 Toyota 2000GT

1969 Barber Shop Car by Joe Bailon

1970 Campbell V-8 Juice Roadster by George Barris

1971 DeTomaso Pantera formerly owned by Elvis Presley

1993 Harley Davidson Hot Rod Magazine 45^th Anniversary Motorcycle

Robert E. Petersen, founder of Petersen Publishing and creator of Hot Rod Magazine, Motor Trend,
and countless other enthusiast magazines was the visionary and major benefactor
after whom The Petersen Automotive Museum was named. Mrs. Petersen shared and
continues to share in her late husband’s enthusiasm and support for The Museum.
Realizing the need for an automotive museum in the heart of Los
Angeles (a city built around the automobile), Mr. and Mrs. Petersen
worked with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles to create the Petersen Automotive Museum
in 1994. Thanks to their generous contributions, the Petersen Automotive Museum
became self-sustaining in 2000 with the creation of the Petersen Automotive
Museum Foundation, and continues to live on as a legacy not only to Mr. and
Mrs. Petersen, but to the automotive community as a whole.