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Start your engines!
Within the walls of the Simeone Foundation Museum — the only museum of its kind in North America — visitors find 60 of the world’s rarest and most famous race cars from makers like Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Maserati.
The collection begins with a race car from 1909 and continues to the mid-1970s.
Significant cars in the collection include the “Hippie” Porsche 917 (named for its psychedelic paint scheme), a 1958 Aston Martin DBR1 that Stirling Moss drove to victory, a Cobra Daytona Coupe that had been lost for 30 years until Simeone helped in its recovery, a Le Mans-winning Bugatti and a 1938 Alfa Romeo, winner of the Mille Miglia.
The collection features race cars made between 1909 and the mid-1970s.
Like the collection of paintings at Philadelphia’s famed Barnes Foundation, the Simeone Foundation Museum houses a personal collection, driven by Dr. Fred Simeone’s singular vision of how the collection should be arranged.
The central theme of the Simeone Foundation collection is “The Spirit of Competition.”
The cars are displayed in dioramas representing the famous race courses where they actually competed — such as Watkins Glen, Bonneville, Sebring, the Mille Miglia and Le Mans — so visitors can relive history while they peruse the collection.
As visitors walk through the Simeone Foundation Museum, they see how technology has evolved in just seven decades of racing.
For an unforgettable automotive experience, visit the museum on one of its world-famous Demonstration Days.
Each Demo Day features cars from the collection, as well as guest cars from other collections, in a themed presentation and demonstration run.
Using the expansive three-acre parking lot behind the museum, visitors can see, hear and smell history come to life through these magnificent machines.
Each Demonstration Day begins with a brief lecture on each car’s importance and its place in history. Immediately after the lecture, each car is demonstrated outdoors in the parking lot in a controlled manner, weather permitting.
After the demonstration runs are complete, guests can see each car up close and take pictures.
The Visit Philly Overnight Package — booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 — comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia) and overnight hotel accommodations.
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