I only had two outings pre-planned for this trip before I flew out to LA.
The first of those, at Boy Child’s prompting (I’ve still to figure out why he never thought to visit this place himself when he was in California two years ago) was a trip to the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Yes, I was indulging my inner petrolhead.
And the added bonus to this plan… there was an exhibition running featuring some of the cars from The Fast & Furious film series. Vroom! Vroom! What’s not to love about those films?…well, the first seven of them.
Visiting the Petersen Museum wasn’t the cheapest museum. I bought my ticket online the night before for $40 but that included access to “the vault”, an underground level featuring around 250 rare vehicles. (We’ll come back to that thought.)
When I arrived, I checked in at the admission desk, was given a “P” sticker for my shirt and wristband confirming my vault access. The guy behind the desk gave me a floorplan and advised me to start on the top floor and work my way down. Seemed as good a plan as any.
The top floor is badged as “History” on the floorplan map along with a section for Hollywood cars. The various exhibits certainly take you through the automobile’s history and the history of tyres. I had always though that “run flat” tyres were a 21st Century thing. I was more than a little surprised to learn that they’ve been around since the 1930s.
In a prime spot on the top floor, there’s one of the museum’s most popular cars… well, most popular with the younger visitors that is. I’d shared the link to the museum’s website with a car loving friend when I’d first planned the visit and they’d confessed that they would go just to see this car alone… I kind of hope they were joking but I’ve a sneaky feeling they weren’t. And the car?…Lightning McQueen from Disney’s Cars. Too cute!
Nearby there were other Hollywood icons – the Ducati motorbike from The Matrix, the yellow Fiat 500 from Mission Impossible, the Batmobile, the Delorean Time Machine from Back to the Future and the first of The Fast & Furious cars- Dom’s 2009 Dodge Challenger from Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6! You could almost hear Bohemian Rhapsody echoing out of the Mirthmobile from Wayne’s World!
On the floor below, I found what I had really come to see- The Fast and Furious car collection! Oh, I had died and gone to Dom, Brian, and Letty heaven!
There was Brian’s orange 1993 Toyota Supra from 2001’s The Fast and The Furious. There was Letty’s pink 1995 Nissan 240SX from the same film.
There was the only surviving 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX from 2006’s The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Ten were made and the museum is proud to host the only surviving “Tokyo Drift Evo.”
A flash of bright green and I’d found Brian’s Mitsubishi Eclipse from 2001’s The Fast and The Furious. Then there was Dom’s 1970 Chevrolet Charelle that was used in 2001’s The Fast and The Furious and again in 2009’s Fast & Furious.
Dodge Chargers are synonymous with Dom Toretto and there was another one on display nearby – a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T used in Furious 7.
Another star of the film series was nearby- Brian’s 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R from 2 Fast 2 Furious from 2003. This was the first car that Brian was seen in in the film series. Parked beside it was another of Brian’s cars- the Toyota Supra from Furious 7. The last car he drove in the series. I had a lump in my throat looking at them both. R.I.P Paul Walker, gone far too soon.
On the walls around the exhibition were film posters, stills from the films and quotes from Dom and Brian. They brought a smile to my lips.
I’ll be honest, I stopped watching the film franchise when Paul Walker died. It was never going to be the same without Brian O’Conner so the cars from the more recent films, although impressive, were wasted on me a tad.
There were countless more cars to see! Mercedes, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Cadillac, Ford, and every other manufacturer that you can possibly think of were on display.
On the ground floor, I found another Furious 7 car -Letty’s 1970 Plymouth Aar Hemi Cuda. It was next to an elaborately painted 1953 Mercedes Benz 220 Cabriolet.
It was time to head to The Vault!
When I descended the stairs down into the bowels of The Vault, I was met at the foot of the stairs by the Michelin Man, LOL
The James H Frank Family Vault did not disappoint, It set the bar high with the first car I stopped to admire – a 1947 Ferrari 125S, the first one fully designed and built by Enzo Ferrari to bear his name. That model was one of only two ever built.
Deeper in The Vault, I found a 1957 Jaguar XKSS formerly owned by the late great Steve McQueen.
There was another iconic movie star car hiding in the midst too – Herbie!
More cars from The Fast and The Furious family were secreted in The Vault, including a 1959 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning driven by Brian in The Fast and The Furious back in 2001.
Potentially the most sinister movie star car sat quietly off to one side- a red 1958 Plymouth Fury better known to Stephen King fans as Christine…. perhaps it was time to go.
Coral McCallum 