6/13/10
Simeone Collection
I
recently was invited to join a group of automotive enthusiasts to see
the Simeone Collection in
Philadelphia. I visited the museum over a
year ago, but this visit would include a tour given my Dr. Simeone! I
was very impressed with the collection on my last visit, but to meet
the man behind the collection was an opportunity not to be missed!
Dr. Fred Simeone (pictured in the foreground) introduced himself to us,
and began his tour of the Museum. He began by explaining the overall
concept of the museum was to show how competition spurred the
development of the automobile. The cars are arranged in chronological
order set in dioramas of the particular race or type of event. The
Doctor's collection consists mainly of sports race cars, and less so of
full race cars like Indy or F-1 cars partly because of personal taste.
Dr. Simeone collected these cars with an eye for the design and beauty
of these road cars. They were fast competition cars, but many of them
could be used on public roads.
As we progressed down the line of cars, Dr. Simeone shared little
tidbits of information and insight that were great.
His knowledge of in each car only scratched the surface of
what he really knew, and I'm sure there is a fascinating
story behind how each car came into the possession of the Simeone
Collection!
This Corvette Grand Sport pictured above is a recent addition. Not only
is the history of how the Corvette team set out to beat Carroll Shelby
is interesting, but also the story of the two subsequent owners before
being acquired by the Simeone Foundation.
Each display focused on a particular type of road racing or circuit,
and it was also a cultural history lesson on the type of racing popular
from country to country.
Many of these cars are unrestored examples Dr. Simeone purchased many
years ago. He prefers unrestored cars because they preserve the history
of the car, and directly connects the car to its previous owners and
drivers. In some cases, a full restoration was necessary because the
car was too far deteriorated, but every effort is made to preserve
originality. Some cars on display may have the patina of a 60 year old
car, but many of them have been mechanically refurbished so any one of
them can be fired up at will and driven in the back parking
lot!
Dr. Simeone's attention to detail and encyclopedic knowledge was
fantastic. His knowledge went beyond simple knowledge of automotive
history, but he understands the engineering innovation that made one
car ahead of its time among all its peers.
After lunch we were all invited to wander around the museum to take a
closer look at the cars. Dr. Simeone offered us access beyond the ropes
and even offered to show us under the hoods of any of the cars. My
friend Jim and I were especially interested in taking a look under the
hood of an Alfa 2.9. This supercharged straight eight is not something
you get to see close up every day, and to have its owner give private
viewing was even better.
As in any car show, when the hood goes up, gear heads gather! The neat
thing about this car is next week the Alfa Club is meeting at the
museum to watch this and other Alfas drive in the back parking lot of
the museum to celebrate 100 years of Alfa during the Alfa Club's
national meet. Too bad I won't be able to join them in the celebration.
I want to thank Dr. Simeone for the wonderful tour of his collection
and Abi Singh for organizing this tour.
Reminder: July 10th, 2010,
Oceanside, CA, Inaugural Zac Dugger, Tom Wilson, and Tomyang.net West
Coast Party. Click
here for more details!
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