Sculpture in Movement: A Showcase of Italian Auto Design in LA

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is hosting “Sculpture in Movement: Masterpieces of Italian Design” – an amazing exhibition of Italian autos – until February 2013. This extraordinary showcase has 17 cars of different vintages on display, ranging from the 1932 Ford convertible designed by Pininfarina to the gorgeous Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione realized in 2009. Between these two pieces of excellence in design you can also find remarkable works by Ghia, Scaglietti, Bertone, Zagato, Italdesign, and many others.

If you love Italian design and Italian cars you are going to be mesmerized by the quirky wedge Lancia Stratos Zero Concept, designed in 1970 by Bertone. It has an unusual bright orange color and is realized with a peculiar triangular bonnet. Or maybe you will be seduced by the unique car entirely restored from the original Isetta. In terms of importance, there are few vehicles in the world that can compare with the sleek coupè Cisitalia 202 Pininfarina, made in 1947 and winner of an exhibition in the permanent design collection of the MOMA, New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

And what about the well-known Stanguellini coupé, designed by Bertone in 1953? This striking car was intended to be part of a small run of coachbuilt cars using high performance Stanguellini parts based on Fiat 1100 TV mechanics. With its rakishly styled fastback, split rear window, headlamps integrated into the grille, and rear fins, the car shares a number of features with the contemporary Alfa Romeo B.A.T. series. The Stanguellini, painted a bright yellow banana color and winner of the 2011 Italian Competition in Carmel, California, is on display in all its eccentricity.

Also on display is the extraordinary silver Ferrari Testa Rossa 625/250 made in 1957. This car, over the course of its history, has made many people fall madly in love with Italian design.

While the Cisitalia and Stratos will be permanently present throughout the exhibition, there will be a continuous rotation of numerous other examples of Italian style, design and excellence in auto design. The spokesman of the Petersen Museum has declined to announce which other Italian cars will be shown for the duration of the show, saying only that they will be true masterpieces too. With the above-mentioned cars already on display, one should take his word for it.