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The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum

Step inside the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum and you’ll see some incredible race cars such as a 1926 Bugatti Type 35, a 1953 Hudson Hornet Twin H-Power and a 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II.

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the museum displays racing cars collected by retired neurosurgeon Frederick A. Simeone over the last 50 years. If you're looking for one of the country's best car museums to visit, this is it.

So, here are some details about the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum from Fix Auto Santa Cruz. If you want to travel there from Santa Cruz, CA anytime soon, this will give you a little preview of what you'll see there.

With vehicles that represent all of the eras in car history, this museum is world-class with one-of-a-kind cars everywhere you look. Opened in June 2008, the 80,000-square-foot facility showcases the evolution of the race car over seven decades of what Simeone refers to as the “Spirit of Competition.”

A visit to the museum is like stepping back in time. You’ll have the opportunity to see pre-World War 1 racing cars as well as learn about the history of NASCAR and venues such as Le Mans, Sebring, Bonneville and Targa Florio.

Fred Simeone’s father, a general practitioner, gave him a “dilapidated” Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 when he began driving. He said his father’s intention was to keep him off the road for the next two years while the car was restored. Simeone was motived to get the job done because he wanted to drive the vehicle. This was the beginning of his extraordinary collection.

After his dad died in 1972, he left Simeone $8,000 and four vehicles, which were donated to the museum’s foundation. Before opening the museum in 2008, the cars were stored in a private garage several miles away.

Now both young and old car aficionados come to visit the impressive collection. Although the cars are all in working condition, don’t think you can take one out for a test drive. However, if you stop by on the second or fourth Saturday of every month, some of the racing cars are taken out for demonstration runs in the museum’s three-acre back parking lot. This is where you can “see, hear and smell history come to life,” according to the museum.

Simeone said his favorite, without a doubt, is the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B MM, winner of the 1938 Mille Miglia.

Sources: Wikipedia, Forbes and Yahoo