LOS ANGELES – Auto industry executives, suppliers, designers and journalists are sipping drinks while admiring a blue car that looks a lot like a 1967 Mustang, with a twist – an electric powertrain and a carbon fiber body. Artist Andy Warhol’s ’74 Rolls-Royce is not far away. The venue is the Mecca for car lovers, here at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
The word “museum” may evoke images of ancient relics and bygone cultures.Petersen has some of the earliest versions of several automobiles. It also showcases how we are moving into the future.
“The whole idea is that the present will very quickly become the past. Much that should be saved will be lost if no one pays attention,” says Leslie, Petersen’s chief historian. Kendall told Wars.”We take responsibility for saving, preserving and documenting change because it’s happening in real time.“
’67 (picture below)Named after the 1967 Ford Mustang, the battery-electric sedan is the brainchild of London-based Charge Cars. With carbon fiber exterior body panels and 536 hp and 1,120 lb.-ft. (1,518 Nm) of torque, the ’67 can go from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.9 seconds . With a 63 kWh battery, he has a range of 200 miles (322 km), according to Charge Cars. Production is limited to 499 units, all assembled by hand.
“The Mustang represents the American Dream,” says Mark Roberts, Chief Creative Officer of Charge Cars. “We redefined this to be 21.st-century icon. No damage was done to the internal combustion engine during the construction of this car. “
Charge Cars chose Petersen for its U.S. launch of the ’67 because “Los Angeles is the capital of automotive culture, and Petersen is the home of the automobile,” Roberts argues.
The Petersen Automotive Museum was founded in 1994 by publisher Robert E. Petersen. hot rod and other car enthusiast magazines, and his wife Margie. Its mission is to “explore and present the history of the automobile and its impact on world life and culture, with Los Angeles as a prime example.” There is, says its website.
Kendall has been with Petersen since it opened. The most significant change during his tenure, he says, has been the increased presence of electric vehicles. However, some of the EVs in the museum’s collection, many of which are housed in an appointment-only secure area called The Vault, are much older than Petersen.
This includes henny kilowatts. First produced by Henney Coachworks in 1959, based on a Renault Dauphin, the petrol powertrain was removed and initially he had an electric powertrain driven by his 36V system powered by 18 he 2V batteries has been replaced by It was later upgraded to a 72V system using twelve 6V batteries.
Petersen has long had alternative powertrains on display, including steam, electric, turbine energy, biofuels and gasifiers, Kendall said. The latter can be fueled by wood or coal. He also has a 1917 Woods Dual-Power Hybrid. But electric powertrains have been around for a long time. Scottish inventor Robert Anderson is said to have built his first EV in 1832.
“We found that people didn’t understand that electricity had been around since 1800,” says Kendall.
EV startup Fisker chose Petersen to showcase its battery-electric Ocean SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show event in November. Mr. Tu Le, Managing Director of consulting firm Sino-Auto Insights, was present.
“As someone in the automotive industry,[Petersen]is a really great bridge between the past and the present and the future,” he says.
See what happened to the original Batmobile from the 1966-1968 TV show Batman, as well as specimens such as cars from the 2015 film. Mad Max Fury Road.
That makes Petersen more than just a car museum, says Le. “It really creates a connection[for all types of people]that a lot of museums can’t do,” he says.
Kendall says Petersen always has at least one alternative powertrain exhibit. There are also electric hypercars and electric motorcycles. People can see it all during his Vault tour.
So will electric cars replace internal combustion engines, and if so, when?
“I know better than I predict,” says Kendall.