The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is an automotive museum located at 6825 Norwitch Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The museum's collection consists of approximately 65 racing sports cars and has been assembled over more than 50 years by Frederick A. Simeone, a retired neurosurgeon and native of Philadelphia.
History
Frederick Simeone's father was a general practitioner who ran his medical practice out of a rowhouse in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. When his father died in 1972, Simeone was left with $8,000 and 4 cars which were stored in a garage on Clearfield Street. In 2008 he donated the entire collection of cars to the museum's foundation, which now owns the titles to the cars. From 1982 until the Museum's opening in June 2008, the cars were stored in a garage near 8th and Lombard Streets in Philadelphia.
Criteria for inclusion
The museum has several criteria for inclusion into the collection:
- The car must be a sports car with headlights and fenders.
- The car must have a history of road racing (not solely racing on a track).
- The car must be considered significant, or "winners" associated with superior racing performance.
- Important components, such as the chassis, engine and body, must be original to the car.
Demonstration Days
The museum conducts a Demonstration Days program twice per month, where several cars are moved to the 3-acre parking lot behind the museum. The program consists of a themed educational presentation followed by a driving demonstration where the cars are operated by the museum curator. Upon conclusion of the Demonstration Days program, museum guests are permitted to inspect and photograph the cars.
Library
The museum has a library containing a collection of automotive literature, documents and sales brochures dating back to 1892. The collection was formerly held in boxes in a building in Center City Philadelphia, and was moved into the museum's newly constructed library in 2013. Due to the fragility of the materials, the library and collection are not open to the public.
Exhibits and Collection
The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum consists of 21 exhibits and 65 cars in the permanent collection. The cars are arranged chronologically and in diorama vignettes. Several motor racing venues are represented as exhibits, including Le Mans, Nürburgring, Sebring, Bonneville, Watkins Glen, Brooklands, Mille Miglia and Targa Florio. The museum's collection has been called "one of the finest collections of rare and important racing sports cars in the world". Nearly every car in the collection has its original body. Many of the cars are currently in a driveable condition, and the museum uses aviation gasoline in the cars that are started because it is more stable than regular pump gas.
List of exhibits and cars:
Publications
- The Spirit of Competition - Coachbuilt Press, 2009
- The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles - Coachbuilt Press, 2012
Awards won
- 2014 International Historic Motoring Awards "Car of the Year" - 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe
- 2014 Historic Vehicle Association: 1st automobile added to National Historic Vehicle Register - 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe
- 2012 International Historic Motoring Awards "Publication of the Year" - The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles
- 2011 International Historic Motoring Awards "Museum of the Year"
Spirit of Competition Award
The "Spirit of Competition" is the theme of museum and the title of an annual award given a person from the world of motorsports.
Past recipients of the award include:
- 2008 Mario Andretti
- 2009 Janet Guthrie
- 2010 John Fitch
- 2011 Craig Breedlove
- 2012 Sam Posey
- 2013 Hurley Haywood
- 2014 Bobby Rahal
- 2015 David Hobbs
- 2016 Peter Brock
References
External links
- The Collection | Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum
- Demo Days | Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum