The 1969 Corvette Manta Ray Visits the LeMay Museum

The Manta Ray joined two other historical Corvettes (Mako Shark, and the Stingray Racer) this past weekend to kick off the 60 Years of Corvette exhibit at the LeMay's America's Car Museum. This is a car you rarely hear about but I was quite interesting in it's own right. I was surprised to see the many interesting innovations such as the "panic braking" lights and the interesting "space age"interior that reminded me of the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey.

The 1959 Stingray Racer Visits the LeMay Museum

What a special opportunity it was to see the 1959 Stingray racer up close. It is a unique car that is deeply engrained in Corvette history. It was also the inpiration for the second generation Corvette. It was definitively the highlight of LeMay's America's Car Museum 60 Years of 'Vette celebration. Also on display was the Mako Shark and the Manta Ray. Next stop for this trio is the 2013 Pebble Beach Concour D'Elegance!

Corvette Show Cars - The Mako Shark Visits the LeMay Museum

This weekend was a special one for Corvette enthusiasts as LeMay America's Car Museum hosted three special Corvettes on loan from the GM Heritage Center. We had a great time yesterday looking at these cars up close and I am going to start this series of posts by sharing the Mako Shark. To be honest, I am not a fan of the interior but the body styling and the paint scheme makes it stand out.

Pebble Beach 2011 - 1952 Lancia Aurelia PF200

A Lancia Aurelia B-52 chassis powered by a 2-liter V6 provides the foundation for this concept built by Pininfarina for the 1952 Turin Motor Show. The jet engine theme on the front end is definitively my favorite aspect of this design.

Spotted - 1941 Chrysler Newport Dual Cowl Phaeton

This car is one of only five Newport Phaetons built, one of only two built with the retracting headlamps, and one of the first concept cars built by Chrysler. It was great to see it up close this past summer. More about the story of the Newports at the Ridestory site.

Blackhawk Spotlight - The Alfa Romeo BAT Cars

The fabulous Alfa Romeo BATs (Berlineta Aerodinamica Tecnica). A truly inspired trio of aerodynamic concept cars dreamed by Bertone back in the 50's. It was a real treat to finally see them "in the metal". The definitive high point of my visit to the Blackhawk Automotive Museum.

The trio sitting side by side on the main gallery on the second floor.

Pebble Beach 2011 - 1960 Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster

Created by Chrysler's design chief Virgil Exner and built by Ghia in Italy, the Plymouth XNR is a cool design study in asymmetry. A surprise to see it at Pebble Beach. It really evokes the design spirit of the late 50's. Definitively one of my favorites of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Check out Jay Leno's interview of the owner of this unique piece of rolling sculpture.

Handle With Care - 1957 Studebaker Astral

From the early days of the atomic age comes this imaginative concept of a single wheel, gyroscopically-stabilized, atomic-powered Studebaker Astral. Or... Is this The Jetsons car ;-)

To think that back in the day people thought they would be putting reactors on everything... A bit to optimistic. Don't you think?

Here is the way it looked during my last visit to the Petersen Automotive Museum back in 2007: