Henry Ford museum preparing new permanent exhibit on American racing

The fascinating Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan, will inaugurate a special exhibit dedicated to car racing in America in June 2020. “Driven to Win: Racing in America” will highlight significant and successful race cars from Ford’s history, but it will also present models made by other manufacturers, including the Blue Oval’s arch rivals, while telling the stories of the folks who designed them and the intrepid pilots who raced them.

From Barney Oldfield to Ken Block, “Driven to Win” is a celebration of automotive racing in the United States. Victory isn’t always the end goal, however. Racing has often played a pivotal role in moving technology forward, and the exhibition will underline that by putting a big emphasis on innovations that led to the podium.

Visitors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a 24,000-square-foot space dedicated entirely to car racing. The exhibition will bring together 22 classic and modern-day race cars (though the museum noted more might be added at the last minute), 225 artifacts, six driving simulators, and a multi-sensory theater. There will also be a pit crew challenge for gearheads who want to put their mechanical skills to the test.

Highlights from the list of cars that will be on display include a 1933 Willys drag racer, a 1956 Chrysler 300-B, an Indianapolis 500-winning 1965 Lotus-Ford , and bug-covered the Ford GT that took first in its class during the 2016 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (pictured). Some are already in the Henry Ford, but a few are on loan from other museums (the Lotus-Ford comes from the Phoenix Museum of Art, for example).

The exhibit is permanent. If it sounds like your kind of museum visit, head to the Henry Ford in June 2020 and take it all in. Keep in mind general admission tickets cost $25, though there are discounts for kids and seniors, and you’ll need to pay $6 to park on-location. The museum is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Related Video: