|
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) in Salt Lake City ran an exhibit entitled Speed: The Art of the Performance Automobile containing some legendary cars from June to September 2012. In addition to the fine selection of racers, there were other events and activities surrounding the exhibit. here are some photos and video of the Bonneville cars that were well-represented. The show included several Bonneville notables: the 1938 Mormon Meteor III, 1935 Mormon Meteor I (there until recently), 1937 Cord 812, 1927 Jim Khougaz Modified Ford Roadster, 1952 So-Cal Speed Shop Belly Tank, 1952 Beast III Streamliner, 1952 Eddie Miller Lakester, Larry Miller's Cobra Daytona coupe and 1975 Speedomotive Special Streamliner. Two of the Speed show car donors were at the Salt Flats, to set records with their new racers. Richard Munz had a 1932 Ford Roadster, with a 1949 Mercury 500 bhp engine, attempting to better his previous record of 200.875 mph. Bruce Meyer had a 1932 Ford Roadster, with a 2000 Chevrolet 725 bhp engine, wanting to reach 220 mph. Press release from the UMFA website “Racing into town this summer, Speed: The Art of the Performance Automobile will be on display at the University of Utah on the first-floor galleries of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in the Marcia and John Price Museum Building from June 2 – September 16. The exhibition comprises 19 of the world’s finest automobiles and was organized by automotive historian, museum consultant and guest curator Ken Gross. Speed will showcase a century of automobiles that exemplify premier aerodynamics, engineering, art and design of their eras. The cars range from the menacing 1952 “Beast III” Bonneville racer to the ultra-cool 1957 Jaguar XK-SS Roadster, once owned by Steve McQueen. The cars are on loan from some of the country’s top automobile collections, including the Price Museum of Speed; National Automobile Museum; Petersen Automotive Museum; Bruce Meyer; Peter and Merle Mullin; Jon and Mary Shirley; and the Larry H. Miller Family. “We are delighted to be presenting ‘Speed: The Art of the Performance Automobile’ and are confident that our visitors will be amazed at the beauty, engineering, and amazing stories of these incredible cars” says Gretchen Dietrich, executive director of the UMFA. “We hope many firsttime visitors will come to see the exhibition and be introduced to our wonderful museum and collection.” A number of art museums in America and Europe recently presented popular exhibitions of cars, including Curves of Steel at the Phoenix Art Museum (2007), Allure of the Automobile at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta (2010) and the Portland Art Museum (2011), as well as L’Art de L’Automobile: Chef d’Oeuvres de la Collection Ralph Lauren at the Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris (2011). The first art exhibition of cars was Eight Automobiles, mounted sixty years ago at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (1951). The UMFA’s automobile exhibition, however, is the first of its kind. Speed will examine automobiles not only as works of art and design, but as objects of rich racing history. The featured cars were created by legendary engineers, distinguished designers, and storied automobile companies; many are speed record-setters that were owned and raced by famous drivers and other notable people of their time. This is the first and only time these 19 cars have been seen together in one venue. Many of the cars in Speed: The Art of the Performance Automobile have a special connection to Utah’s famed Bonneville Salt Flats, where racers from all over the world traveled, and continue to travel, in attempts to break land speed records. The “Mormon Meteor III” is perhaps the most famous Bonneville racecar. Designed and driven by legendary racer and former Salt Lake City Mayor David Abbott “Ab” Jenkins (1883-1956), the “Mormon Meteor III” set more long distance land speed records than any other automobile in history, and it still holds 12 of them today. “These 19 special automobiles comprise a remarkable selection of historic racers and high performance cars, spanning more than a century,” notes guest curator Ken Gross. “Unlikely to be repeated, this exhibition represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and study these legends on wheels.”" Bob Leppan Tours Speed
In this video, former land speed record holder Bob Leppan tours the UMFA's exhibition, Speed: the Art of the Performance Automobile. Leppan gives insight into a few of the cars on exhibition, including Mormon Meteor III and the Peerless Green Dragon. (compiled by the Boys of Bonneville producer/directors, Curt Wallin and John Greene) For more information about Speed visit http://www.speedumfa.com/. And there is a book; Speed,The art of the performance automobile |
          |
* 1957 Jaguar XK-SS Roadster, collection of Margie and Robert E. Petersen, Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles. The "Green Rat" was previously owned by actor Steve McQueen.
|
 |
| * 1937 Cord 812, The National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection), Reno, Nev. Utahn Ab Jenkins drove this car to win the Stevens Challenge Trophy in 1937. The same year, it set a record as the fastest production sedan over a 24-hour time period at the Bonneville Salt Flats. |  |
| * 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. One of only 188 sold during the Great Depression, these cars were known for long-distance endurance racing. |  |
| * 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, Larry H. Miller Family, Salt Lake City. The favorite car of Larry H. Miller, who built a large collection of vehicles related to designer Carroll Shelby. This car was the first to beat Ferrari in the GT racing class at Le Mans. |   |
* 1929 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. This car was driven by French racer Louis Chiron, finishing in the top five at Le Mans and other European races.
|
 |
* 1925 Miller 122 Front-Wheel-Drive, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. Also called the "Outboard Brake car," this vehicle competed in 21 Indy 500 races.
|
 |
* 1954 Ferrari 375MM, collection of Jon and Mary Shirley, Medina, Wash. This car was once owned by Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman.
|
 |
| * 1975 "Speedomotive Special" Streamliner, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. Named one of "The Fastest Hot Rods of All Time" by Hot Rod Magazine, the streamliner was built by Al Teague, known as the "fastest hot rodder of them all." |   |
* 1952 "Beast III" Streamliner, Mark and Newie Brinker, Houston. Designed for speed by Chet Herbert, who worked from a wheelchair because of polio.
|
 |
| * 1916 Model C Stutz Bearcat, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. These cars were known to be fast enough to race straight from the dealer. This one was previously shown in the Luis Vuitton Concourse in Paris. |  |
* 1927 Ford Modified Roadster, Richard V. Munz, Madison, Wis. Jim Khougaz, who built and drove this car, flipped it in 1957 while going more than 200 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats. He was injured, but put out the fire himself.
|
 |
* 1931 4 1/2-Litre "Blower" Bentley, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. Supercharged "Blower" Bentleys are prized sports cars. Fictional characters James Bond and Dirk Pitt both drove them in novels.
|
 |
* 1904 Peerless "Green Dragon" Racer, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. Racer Barney Oldfield drove this four-cylinder, 60-horsepower car to national and international speed records.
|
 |
* 1937 Delahaye Type 145, The "Million-Franc Delahaye," Peter and Merle Mullin, Beverly Hills, Calif.
|
 |
| * 1911 Mercer Type 35R Raceabout, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. Mercers were known for speed, finishing third and second, respectively, in the 1912 and 1913 Indy 500s. This one has all original parts. |   |
* 1952 So-Cal Speed Shop Belly Tank, collection of Bruce Meyer, Los Angeles. Made from a WWII fighter plane's aluminum belly tank, this car had a lighter, slimmer silhouette for the "lakester" class at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
|
 |
* 1907 Renault AI 35/45 HP Vanderbilt Racer, Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. One of 10 made for William Vanderbilt to race with friends in Long Island.
|
 |
| * 1935 Duesenberg SJ "Mormon Meteor I," Harry Yeaggy Auto Museum, Cincinnati. Ab Jenkin's first Meteor, at 135.58 miles per hour, set a 24-hour speed record |  |
* 1938 "Mormon Meteor III," Price Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City. Built by Ab Jenkins and Augie Duesenberg, it went 161.180 miles per hour for 24 hours and still holds speed endurance records on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
|
 |
