Ever since I was a kid, I was fascinated by the combustion engine. Riding in our family station wagon with my Dad, a naval engineer in World War II, was always a learning experience.
By the time I was eight, I knew what pistons and cylinders were, and by the age of ten, I could diagnose a solenoid failure or a bad clutch.
When I was a freshman at Villanova and sitting in Linehan’s calculus class or watching Spadafora’s inorganic chemistry demos, there is no doubt that I was rubbing elbows with future physicists and mechanical engineers.
And, full disclosure, Angus MacKenzie’s inside-the-backpage column, The Big Picture, for Motor Trend is a must-read for me every month.
So, when my husband bought a trunkload of tickets for a trip to the Simeone Foundation Auto Museum on the piping hot, penultimate Saturday in July, I was “in” for the ride of a lifetime.
WOW! What a unique, fascinating, and breathtaking experience. I really did not want to leave after three hours, reassuring myself that I was promised a return visit.
This is why Simeone Auto Museum located at 6825 Norwitch Drive, Philadelphia 19153, is a great bang for your buck.
This place and these people are the real deal. At entry, a table is set up for dry goods or cash donations to Philabundance. A+ for caring about the less fortunate.
There are free masks, free boxed Flowflex COVID-19 antigen tests, free bottled waters with encouragement to do refills at the water fountains, and baked-that-morning delicious full-size soft pretzels for a dollar.
Walk through the main doors and a huge, vaulted ceiling welcomes visitors into a warehouse of the most intelligently and thoughtfully assembled series of exhibits I have ever encountered.
Talk about visibility, proximity, readability and multi-dimensional corrals of actual vehicles, relevant footage and videos, and history fabulously written. I could do overnight camp here.
You are literally inches away from vehicles voted “best car collection in the world by the Classic Car Trust” (ClassicCarTrust.com) and situated just minutes off I-76 and I-95, close to Center City and the Philadelphia International Airport.
We toured the circuit consisting of 75 vehicles from a 1907 RENAULT VANDERBILT to a 1975 ALFA ROMEO 33 TT 12.
On the Simeone Auto Museum website, you can browse full-bodied photos, a comprehensive annotated inventory of the collection, numerous historical guidance, and images of every dimension of competitive racing.
According to the log for the early 1900’s, “There was active organized racing throughout the United States prior to WWI. Venues such as Santa Monica, CA, Savannah, GA, Elgin, IL, and the Vanderbilt Cup races at Long Island, NY, provided tracks where individuals could race their cars side-by-side.
“These cars were usually stripped sports cars, meaning the lights, fenders and any unnecessary items were removed.
“In this popular era of sports car racing, the leading cars were the National (which had the most wins), the Stutz Bearcat (which had the best advertising), and the Mercer Raceabout (which was considered the most advanced).
At Simeone, these cars are displayed in front of the scoreboard for one of the Fairmount Park races in Philadelphia, an event that drew over 400,000 spectators.
1907 Renault 35/45 Vanderbilt Racer
1912 National Model 40 Semi-Racing Roadster
“Serious automobile road racing started in France with major races throughout the country, usually long distances, such as the 1905 Paris-Madrid.
“They held the first race ever called a Grand Prix, in the Sarthe just outside of Le Mans. A fiercely powerful Renault won that contest in grand form, and this attracted international attention.
“About that time, millionaire William K. Vanderbilt was deciding to start the sport of racing in America, and he implored Renault to sell him such a car.
“Considering the expenses of producing even a slightly scaled-down version, Renault insisted that they made 10 cars, and it was up to Mr. Vanderbilt to find buyers for the rest.
“This he handily did, calling upon his friends, the likes of Guggenheim, Paine, Whitney, Dodge, et al, and all 10 cars (possibly 11) found a home and through the years they became scattered among subsequent owners so that to this day only four, and perhaps a fifth, have survived.”
Furthermore, “During their early racing career, these cars had many successes, including winning one of the first 24-hour American endurance races held at Morris Park, New York, a horse racetrack converted for this contest. Subsequent great performances at other tracks ensured the lasting history of these great cars.
“Ultimately, about half have disappeared, and the others found their way into museums or great collections. Our Simeone Renault has an interesting post-racing history.
“Before World War II, there was little interest in collecting antique cars, and more so antique race cars. Antique race cars often went to the junkyard when their competition life expired because they had no practical use otherwise.
“The workers saved our Renault because they used it to carry a large wet canvas around a dusty dirt horse racing track prior to a race, a convenient if not an attractive pre-race event.
“In the 1920s, the team of George Waterman and Kirk Gibson collected old cars, and they could find, in addition, a few serious race cars saved from demolition by stalwart enthusiasts.
“The Waterman-Gibson duo easily accumulated a group of pre-1910 automobiles, but they seemed to cherish the few race cars that were available even in those early days. Kirk Gibson acquired the Renault car in 1928 and it remained in his family ever since.
“In the 1930s, five stalwart enthusiasts brought their cars out on the rare occasions where there could be a general interest. These cars included the famous Mercer Raceabout of Cameron Bradley, and the Stutz Bearcat of Smith Hempstone Oliver, automotive curator at the Smithsonian Institute.
“Plus, the great Bruce-Brown giant Fiat racecar, the famous Vanderbilt cup-winning Locomobile “Old 16” now enshrined in the Henry Ford Museum and our Kirk Gibson 1907 Renault racing roadster.”
Visitors can take note that a few photographs and videos of “the boys” proudly showing these cars together in the 1930s survive for modern inspection.
Before this article ends, I highly recommend that you and your party visit the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, especially on a Demo Day.
“At the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, you can see, hear and smell history come to life through these magnificent machines. Our Demo Day events are typically held twice a month on Saturdays from around 11am through 2 pm.
Now “at the finish line,” our family and friends witnessed the demo billed as “Sports Car Championship 1965, Ford vs Ferrari” in which a 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, Ferrari 275P, and a Ford GT40 MK II each did their thing on a 3-acre back lot track.
Before you leave Simeone, make sure you go up the steps to the art gallery for the “icing on the cake” – Alfredo de la Maria’s exuberant color spectacles and renditions of speed races throughout the ages (https://alfredodelamaria.com/).
When you visit, be thankful to founder Dr. Fred Simeone, take it all in and do plan for a return trip. You will not regret the enjoyable and dynamic time spent at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum.
Main Line Media News Columnist Mary Brown is an adjunct professor of Latin at Saint Joseph’s University.
Brown: Simeone Auto Museum, a high octane ‘Celebration of The Spirit of Competition’ - Main Line
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