Wedges at the Petersen

My brother, Tom, and I recently visited the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA, primarily in my case to see the “Wedge” exhibit of wedge-shaped cars from the 70’s and 80’s. It was his first visit to the museum, and my second, though my first visit was many years ago when they were in their smaller and less purpose-built space.

We toured the whole place, including the vast Vault in the basement, which you can now just walk around whereas in the old days you had to be part of a guided tour. It took us over 4 hours, including a lunch at the quite good cafe.

There are a few things about the Petersen that I really enjoy:

• A diverse collection of cars from many countries, from the most humble cars to the most exotic.

• You can get up close to just about everything — don’t touch but you can walk right up and look at them as close as you want.

• The staff are universally friendly and extremely knowledgeable (and won’t shoo you away from things!)

• The lighting is good and adequate — unlike, say, the Blackhawk car museum in the Bay Area which is all black inside and very dimly lit.

• They have a rather good YouTube channel

Wedges, and the Lancia Stratos Zero

Let’s start some pics with the star of the Wedge exhibit — the Lancia Stratos Zero. Designed by the late, great Marcello Gandini (who also designed the Lamborghini Miura and Countach along with many, many other cars) while he was at Bertone in 1970. This utterly wild and impractical concept led into the legendary Lancia Stratos rally and road car a few years later.

I’ve seen photos of this car since I was a child, and this was an amazing opportunity to see it in person for the first time. It still looks stunning and bonkers today. What I hadn’t been prepared for is how petite it is — almost a foot shorter than a current MX-5 Miata! And at 33” tall, it’s incredibly low and passengers must virtually lie on their backs. From the days when concept cars really were concepts…

Click on the thumbnails to see more, and captions give some more details.

Lancia Stratos Zero concept

It’s deceptively small — 10” shorter than a current Miata. And only 33” high!

Getting in and sitting down...

Not very easy! Access is through the windshield which swings to one side. You sit on the floor of the car, your butt only a few inches from the ground, and virtually lying flat.

Dramatic “hood” that is vented to allow air in or out, and hinges on one side of the triangle.

Rear visibility non-existent. Despite the big exhausts, the concept is powered by a tiny 1.6L V4

It's so small

Pictures are deceiving as it looks much larger than it is. What seem like huge wheels are actually only maybe 14” rims.

More from the Wedge exhibit…

Lancia Stratos HF

The rally car version of what emerged from the Stratos Zero concept, also designed by Gandini/Bertone.

BMW Turbo Concept

A 1972 “safety car” concept from BMW which I’d never seen before. Clearly the precursor to the cult classic BMW M1 a few years later.

Aston Martin Bulldog

A one-off concept designed by William Townes, who only knew how to draw straight lines!

Other beauties and curiosities

Here’s a collection of various other things I liked (and which photographed decently). Some of these could be in the wedge exhibit too but weren’t. Again, details in some of the captions.

Lamborghini Miura

Also designed by Marcello Gandini

"Eyelash" headlights

Famous detail around the pop-up headlights on the early versions of the Miuras.

Italdesign Aztec

1988 concept by Italdesign (founded by Giorgietto Guigiaro) that apparently had a small production run of 18 (though not by Audi, who’s name appears on the concept)

Sci-fi details

The Aztec has some Star Wars-like controls and labels on its side

I don’t remember what this is, but it sure is dramatic! Love the color.

Ken Block Hoonigan car

One of many on display in a Ken Block exhibit

Nissan Skyline

In the 80’s/90’s exhibit

Audi Quattro rally car

In the 80’s/90’s exhibit

Ferris Bueller mock Ferrari

One of the mock Ferrari 250 California Spyders used in the movie. Originals were expensive in the 80s, worth many millions today!

Chevrolet Biscayne

1955 concept. Its scalloped flanks previewed the Corvette that would come out 1-2 years later. Has a very contemporary stance on it — beautiful car and one of my favorites from the museum.

James Hetfield custom cars

The Metallica frontman has an extensive custom car collection, and he seems to have a strong hand in designing them.

GMA S1 LM

A T50 from Gordon Murray Automotive, rebodied and sans fan for downforce so that it mimics a McLaren F1 from the 90s. 1 of 5 custom built all for one very deep-pocketed customer.

"Airplane" car

Don’t remember what this is, but it was modeled after an airplane cockpit and landing gear.