By Marcal Eilenstein
In the previous installment, I showed you some of the great Ferraris contained in the Lemay museum. Today, I want to give you a quick tour of the lobby of this fine establishment before we get too far in. As soon as we walked in the door and saw a race car, a motorcycle, and a stretch limo in the lobby, I knew we had come to the right place.
This is a papal conveyance known as the popemobile, based on a 1964 Lincoln. You can see it is a limousine, with steps on either side to carry security, and a large plexiglass shield on the roof. What you can’t see (my fault for not taking better pictures) is the opening in the roof and the steps on the floor where the vicar would stand.
This is a cool car called a Selden. It was recently in a cross-country rally, so this car is no museum piece. I believe it a 1927 model. I really like the simplicity of early cars – every component is clear to see: the gas tank is a tank, the trunk is a literal trunk, and the taillight looks like a lantern.
With seating for just two, a small trunk, and a big tank, you could almost say this was one of the first sports cars.
I have to confess, I have no idea what this is. What I remember is that this is a prototype, a one-off car that never saw production. I think it looks great.
There were quite a few two-wheel machines in the museum, including this 1955 Lambretta in the lobby.
1958 Corvette. Enough said.
Mounted on the wall like a dead animal is this 2007 A1GP chassis raced by Team USA. Of course, given the way A1GP went, it’s probably best this way. They say there are plans to bring back A1GP, but I’m not sure the world needs another spec series.
That’s it for the lobby sights. From here, we bought our tickets, got our wristbands, and made our way onto the main floor. Truly a remarkable experience, and the best way I can think of to spend a Saturday morning. Next time around, I’ll introduce you to some of my favorite longroofs in the museum.
[Images copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Marcal Eilenstein]
Ross Ballot 
Jeff Glucker
Marcal, that's a '59 or '60 Corvette. The '58 has fake louvers (think washboard) on the hood and chrome strips on the trunklid. A cousin of mine (R.I.P.) once owned a '58.
Okay, now I see the sign at the bottom of the photo. It's a '60.
Thanks. I fail at Corvettes.
Have you toured the whole museum? With something like 500 cars, it sounds like it would days to see everything.
I have. I'm trying to break up the pictures into favorite areas/cars, but I took a ton of them, so paring them down to a reasonable number is tricky. You definitely could spend an entire day there. We were there for probably three hours.
The red one is the Kurtis Omohundro Comet…
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121214/carnews0…
That's it! Thanks.
This is why I love Hooniverse.
I didn't actually know that, but the front end looked so Kurtis-like that the Googles gave up the answer quickly.
Ha look at this: http://hooniverse.info/2012/12/16/hooniverse-weeke… Yes I forgot too 😉 Thanks for finding the good write-up too! And MVE, I haven't missed the wagons yet, have I?
Off topic question, but tangentially related to the A1GP mention:
Has there ever been a major race series where the powerplant was spec, but the chassis design was unrestricted?
I would love to see a series that specified a normally aspirated, relatively conventional motor (such as the current LT1 or the Viper V10) and a stock production transmission, but allowed the builders to go batshit crazy with the chassis, suspension and tires. The premise basically being, "Here, this is the power y'all have to work with. Now, go figure out how to get around the track as quickly as possible with it."
I can't think of one.
But that would be pretty cool, no?
That would be very cool.
That is a phenomenal idea.
Probably not quite what you had in mind… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_Super_Vee
F440/500 probably comes even closer…
"Formula 500 was originally introduced in the early 1980s as Formula 440 (F440). Formula 500 is a spec class in the sense that the engine, drivetrain, and shock absorbers are all tightly regulated, but the chassis, bodywork and other car parts are free for designers to experiment with within dimensional and structural limits. These regulations allow for very competitive racing at a relatively low cost which rewards driver and car set-up skill."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_500
That seems as if it should be a very late Selden. That company's fame was for trying to enforce a patent on all manufacturers for the essential concept of an automobile. Finally broken by Ford in a patent lawsuit, IRRC. But it is very far from the first sports car or the first car with those characteristics.
The Papal Lincoln seems to have a Polish flag on it. Was this car used by JPII? I suppose it would not have been that old at the start of his time as Pope.