What to Know
- The Petersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Boulevard
- "Hollywood Customs: Modified for the Movies," a celebration of customized cars seen on the big screen, opens Sept. 16
- Included with general museum admission
Counting all of the cars that have whooshed through a cinematic scene, the sort of major movie moment that finds the main character out on a sidewalk, near an intersection, or in the driver's seat?
It would be impossible to do so, and even cataloging all of the films that have featured cars would be an incredible feat.
But we can list some of the most astounding customized artworks ever to roll across the silver screen, and getting the revved-up chance to behold these movie cars in person?
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
That's happening, too, with pedal-to-the-metal moxie.
For there are cars, and then there are those cars that have been "Modified for the Movies." And what luck for auto aficionados who adore films: Several of those snazzy jaw-droppers will be on dazzling display at the Petersen Automotive Museum starting on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Among the eye-catching treasures in the exhibition? A DeLorean DMC-12 "Time Machine" for the "Back to the Future" fans in the house, "Herbie," the beloved Volkswagen Beetle from the '60s, and Honda S2000 from "2 Fast 2 Furious."
The Scene
Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.
The exhibition shares that while a stock model is often just fine for what a film or television series requires, "sometimes modifications to production vehicles are needed to create a memorable automotive costar."
"The modifications can be as simple as a decorative paint job that gives a vehicle a distinctive look to suit its role, or more extreme, such as customizing one model to appear to be another car entirely."
The "automotive characters" are so memorable that rhapsodizing about the star car in the same breath as the movie's title or premise is a common practice for many people.
We'll never be able to count all of the traditional cars featured on TV or in cinemas, but we do love to sing the praises of the customized wonders from our favorite films as well as what made those vehicles so singular.
Encounter some of these icons in person, at The Petersen, starting on the last Saturday of summer.
