How to See Movie Cars in Person

• July 22, 2015
• / Story By
  Kristin Cline

Along with the many star-studded attractions available in Los Angeles, The Petersen Automotive Museum adds some extra glitz with their permanent Hollywood Gallery: Cars of Film and Television. Seeing movie cars that you've become so familiar with on screen, in person, is such a treat. While it's a permanent exhibit, the cars shown change every now and then so you'll always be in for a new surprise. The Petersen opens it's doors post-renovation this coming December, put it on your calendar to pay them a visit! Check out some of our favorite movie cars spotted from past visits: Making movie cars before the computerization of special effects meant that the "Black Beauty" from the original Green Hornet TV-Series was made with real mechanical features, many of which still work! We looked at this car more closely in our Cars From the Vault series, along with the Joker's car "Mongrel T" from the Batman TV-Series. The outrageous paint job on this Honda S2000 is a dead giveaway from it's role in Fast and Furious. Seen here during a Japanese Car Cruise-In held on the weekend. The Petersen regularly has special weekend meets in their garage and also takes cars out to events. Photo Credit: The Petersen Some cars look just like what you could drive off a dealer lot, while other movie cars are completely custom-built creations - like "Hannibal" from The Great Race (1965) and the "Batmobile" from Batman (1989). In addition to cars that starred in movies, The Petersen also has cars once owned by movie stars, including Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS and Rita Hayworth's Ghia-bodied Cadillac. Photo Credit: The Petersen Another one of Steve McQueen's cars was this Hudson Hornet, a luxurious and speedy car of it's time. Shown here next to The Petersen's newly acquired VW Van from Little Miss Sunshine - both pictured here during participating in a local car cruise. The original "Eleanor" Mustang from 1974's Gone in 60 Seconds. If you've seen the movie (which you must) you'll understand the thrashed-up state of this relic. As it turns out, this film is one of my all-time favorite car movies... watch for more about it later this week during Driving Line's summer Movie Week.

If you could drive just one favorite car from a movie, which one would you choose?