01 Aug

Summer Attractions: Newport Auto Museums Highlight Design on Wheels

Restored art deco building on Newport’s historic Bellevue Avenue houses the Audrain Auto Museum Photo – Audrain Auto Museum

Restored art deco building on Newport’s historic Bellevue Avenue houses the Audrain Auto Museum
Photo – Audrain Auto Museum

Newport, R.I. — Car enthusiasts now have their pick of destinations to get their fix while visiting Newport, with two car museums featuring classic and rare cars, the newest having opened just last month. The Audrain Automobile Museum and the Newport Car Museum both place a strong emphasis on design and display the cars as works of art.

“What we’re really talking about is good design, and how car design really reflects art and social history,” said David de Muzio, executive director of the Audrain Automobile Museum. “It’s another way to understand what the cars are, why they look like they do.”
The museums fit right in to the spirit of Newport, a resort destination known for its mansions, folk and jazz festivals and beaches. Wealthy families have summered here for generations — bringing with them their cars.

“There is a car culture here, and it goes right back to the late 19th century when Willie K. Vanderbilt was acquiring and racing cars. Some of the very first car races in the United States happened right here in Newport,” de Muzio said.

Cars became part of high society, as vacationers spending time at summer homes would parade their cars around town. Some of those car races were held on the beach here, or on Bellevue Avenue, the leafy boulevard lined by Gilded Age mansions, de Muzio said.

Both museums are drawn from private collections, and they are different and complementary. The Audrain, which opened in 2014, is located in a historic building on Bellevue, next to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It rotates through four exhibits per year of around 20 cars, drawn from a collection of 225.

About 15 to 20 examples are displayed at a time out of the Audrain Auto Museum’s collection of over 200 cars Photo – Audrain Auto Museum

About 15 to 20 examples are displayed at a time out of the Audrain Auto Museum’s collection of over 200 cars Photo – Audrain Auto Museum

It has what de Muzio calls an “encyclopedic” focus, with a wide range of different makers and years, from prewar cars to the present day. An exhibit that was on view through June 25, “Drop Dead Drop Tops,” focused on convertibles and featured a range of cars, from a 1930 Pierce-Arrow Model A to a one-of-a-kind white and blue 2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4L Grand Sport Vitesse “Le Ciel Californien.” The exhibit even included curiosities such as a 1957 Ferrari Bimbo racer, a 12-volt electric children’s car that was based on the open Ferrari Spider of the time. The Audrain’s new exhibit, “Fast, Fun & Fabulous: Best of Show,” featuring award-winning automobiles that are a superlative example of design or that have won races, opened last week.

Ford Shelby Gallery features the iconic 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350R Photo – Newport Car Museum

Ford Shelby Gallery features the iconic 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350R
Photo – Newport Car Museum

There’s still a new car smell at the Newport Car Museum, which opened June 1 and is actually in neighboring Portsmouth, a short drive from the attractions of Newport. The museum is housed in a 55,000-square-foot space in a building once used by defense contractor Raytheon to manufacture missiles. The displays here are drawn entirely from the private collection of Gunther and Maggie Buerman.

Around 50 cars are displayed in five galleries, with classics including Ford Shelby racing cars, Corvettes, Mopars and a large collection of fin cars, as well as some European, British and Japanese cars. Every model of Corvette, from a C1 to C7, is here. There’s a 1965 Ford Shelby 427 SC Cobra, designed by American automotive designer and racecar driver Carroll Shelby, one of just 31 made, and valued by Gunther Buerman at $3 million.

Gallery dedicated to finned cars from the 50’s and 60’s at the Newport Car Museum Photo – Newport Car Museum

Gallery dedicated to finned cars from the 50’s and 60’s at the Newport Car Museum
Photo – Newport Car Museum

From a 1954 Buick to a 2017 Dodge Viper ACR, Gunther Buerman said he wanted the museum to appeal to all ages. “The idea is to span that whole generation, so that the grandfather can come, the father and son have something to enjoy, the mother, the grandmother. The whole family can come and see something of interest,” he said.

Anna and Doug Lash, of Monroe, Connecticut, said they have been to numerous car museums and shows, but never one quite like the Newport Car Museum. “The artistic layout is really unique. It makes the cars look like a piece of art. These cars were virtual pieces of art. The production cars today don’t even come close to some of this,” said Doug Lash, a self-described car enthusiast. “The classics that he’s picked are incredible. The design is the thing that makes them stand out from anything that goes fast.”

If You Go –

AUDRAIN AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM: 222 Bellevue Ave., Newport, Rhode Island, next to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, http://audrainautomuseum.org. $14; seniors, military, students, $10; children 6 to 17, $8. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily.

NEWPORT CAR MUSEUM: 1847 West Main Road, Portsmouth, Rhode Island (near Newport on the campus of defense contractor Raytheon), https://newportcarmuseum.org. $18; seniors, military, students, AAA members, $15; children 5 to 15, $5. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily.
Contributed by Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press