Petersen Automotive Museum

The Petersen Automotive Museum is the landmark of American car museums, founded in 1994 by publisher Robert E. Petersen, the man behind Hot Rod magazine, and now unmissable on Museum Row behind its swooping stainless steel ribbon facade. More than 300 vehicles spanning 120 years fill three themed floors, and the museum runs like a living institution: over a dozen exhibitions rotate on multi-year cycles, so the upper floors genuinely reinvent themselves between visits.

The permanent collection is stacked with legends: Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS, Ayrton Senna's Lotus 99T, Fernando Alonso's McLaren MCL33, Elvis Presley's De Tomaso Pantera, and Gypsy Rose, the most famous lowrider ever built. Cars of Film and Television keeps Hollywood's machinery in Hollywood: the Back to the Future DeLorean, the Ghostbusters Ecto-1, a Batmobile, Herbie and Luke Skywalker's landspeeder, with hot rod and custom displays honouring the founder's roots.

Then there is the Vault: 300 plus of the rarest vehicles, presidential and dignitary cars among them, in the guarded lower level on a separate ticket. It is the best money you will spend in an American car museum.

Three polished floors walked top down, then the basement if you bought properly. Book timed tickets ahead; this is one of LA's busiest museums.

Look out for:

• The Vault (combo ticket, last entry 5pm): the underground collection of 300 plus rarities, from a 1903 Cadillac to presidential and dignitary vehicles, constantly rotating.

• The legends' machines: Steve McQueen's Jaguar XKSS, Ayrton Senna's Lotus 99T, Fernando Alonso's McLaren MCL33 and Elvis Presley's De Tomaso Pantera.

• Gypsy Rose, Jesse Valadez's 1964 Impala, the most famous lowrider in the world, flying the flag for LA's own car culture.

• Cars of Film and Television: the BTTF DeLorean, Ecto-1, a Batmobile, Herbie and Luke Skywalker's landspeeder.

• The hot rod and custom displays, the culture founder Robert Petersen built Hot Rod magazine on.

• The rotating floors: more than a dozen exhibitions on multi-year runs; check the exhibits page for what is on.

• The Discovery Center and Forza Horizon 6 Experience, the family floor done properly, plus the 1910 Model T you may actually sit in.

Allow 3 hours for the floors, 4 plus with kids or the Vault. The Meyers Manx Cafe covers breakfast and lunch, and the Petersen Store (no ticket needed) is its own stop.

• Tickets: listed $22 adult, $20 senior (62+), $13 youth (12 to 17), $12 child (4 to 11), under 4 free; Vault combo listed $51 adult. Buy timed tickets on the official site and confirm current rates.

• The Vault needs planning: separate combo ticket, last entry 5pm, and its cars rotate constantly.

• Hours: daily 10am to 6pm, check-in closes 5:30pm.

• Parking: museum garage $18 for the first 2 hours, capped at $24 with admission, first 15 minutes free; rideshare drop-off on Wilshire is painless.

• Accessibility is excellent: free wheelchairs, touch tours and ASL interpreters (accessibility@petersen.org).

• Meyers Manx Cafe on site (breakfast from 8am); the museum store requires no ticket.

• On Museum Row beside LACMA and the Tar Pits, an easy cultural double.

Last updated: 2 September 2026