The Simeone Automotive Museum
When: Opens at 10:00 am Tuesday – Sunday
Where: 6825 Norwitch Drive, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Information: SimeoneMuseum.org
Contact: (215) 365-7233
Not to Miss: The LeMans exhibit, featuring the cars that revolutionized the race.
Image Source: Best of Italy (simeonemuseum.org)
Pennsylvania’s Sports Car Paradise
Fred Simeone’s Museum is a celebration of the automobile and the result of 50 years of collecting race cars and their consumer counterparts. The museum is themed on the evolution of the racing sports car, showcasing the developments that never caught on as well as the icons that shaped the automotive world. Seven decades of the “spirit of competition” meet in this Philadelphia museum, a tribute to the crucible of endurance and performance trials through which cars have evolved. Many of the display cars are rare homologations, often avant-garde vehicles produced in very low quantities – just enough to qualify the car for sanctioned racing.
Image Source: 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird (simeonemuseum.org)
Special exhibits on the Nurburgring, the Mille Miglia, and many others help clothe the display cars in the settings of their original use. These cars are kept in running order and participate in twice-monthly driving demonstrations in the Museum’s 3-acre parking lot. There are very few post-1970 racing cars in the Simeone Foundation collection for maintenance reasons; modern, highly-developed race cars cannot be driven on the road and need substantial exercise. If the drive seems a bit far, the Simeone Foundation website offers in-depth reports on many of the cars on display, from the historical import of the model itself, to the provenance of their particular car.
Image Source: 1933 Squire (simeonemuseum.org)