Henry Ford Museum To Celebrate American Motorsport

February 4, 2020

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, is 250 acres of Americana; not just cars, but the most remarkable things about the United States coming from the last couple hundred of years. And in June, the Henry Ford will bring you the most remarkable things about the US that came from a race track.

‘Driven to Win: Racing in America’, is the museum’s upcoming exhibit, focusing on the highs and lows of racing in the US since the dawn of the automobile. Of course, you’d expect some successful Ford products here; the Ford GT that won its class at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans will feature, complete with original dirt, soot and splattered bugs right from the race.

But there will be so much more. The exhibit promises to feature 28 vehicle exhibits (which could change to more), 22 race cars (again, more can be added), 24 interactive exhibits, 225 artifacts, six driving simulators and one multi-sensory theatre (your guess is as good as ours). Some cars earmarked for display include the Ford-engined Lotus 38 Jim Clark drove to Indy 500 victory in 1965, a 1958 Moore/Unser Pikes Peak climber on loan from Bobby and Lisa Unser, the 1965 Goldenrod land speed racer that set a then-record of 409.277mph (around 659kph), and a 1906 Locomobile ‘Old 16’ racer that won the Vanderbilt Cup, America’s first big race.

The most ironic part about this exhibit is that, according to the Henry Ford website, it’s presented to you by General Motors.