iPetersen Automotive MuseumMiracle Mile
World-Class
Marking the 100th anniversary of the Daimler-Benz merger with a broad range of Mercedes-Benz models spanning the marque's engineering history.
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The show starts in the parking structure. Two Benzes sit there, a gasoline coupe and a diesel sedan, and Hagerty reports that both odometers read more than 1.3 million miles. The lobby is full of Mercedes too.
More than 40 cars fill the Mullin Gallery on the ground floor, marking 100 years since Daimler and Benz merged in 1926. You start beside a replica of Carl Benz's 1886 Patent-Motorwagen and a 1902 Mercedes Simplex, then walk past prewar 540Ks, a 1938 W154 Grand Prix car and the 300SL prototype to a CLK-GTR roadster. Not all of it is grand: Hagerty's favourite was a 1937 170 H, an affordable car nicknamed the "Benz Beetle". The 1981 G-Wagen began as the Shah of Iran's request for a military vehicle, long before its second career idling outside Erewhon.
Come for the range, from a brass-era tourer to homologation supercars. It's included with admission: $52 for adults and $25 for ages 4 to 11, both with the Vault, until 25 April 2027.
Look for
The 1902 Mercedes Simplex 28 HP Tourer
One of 35 built that year and now the oldest Mercedes in America, parked next to a replica of Carl Benz's 1886 Patent-Motorwagen.
Walt Disney's 1964 230SL
A Pagoda, named for its concave roofline, that Walt Disney bought new.
The 1971 600 Pullman Landaulet
Look at the open rear of a limousine built for royalty and diplomats, whose windows, seats, sunroof and doors ran on push-button hydraulics; only 59 Landaulets were made.
The 1987 AMG "Hammer" wagon
A 300 TD station wagon whose turbodiesel was swapped for a 6.0-litre V-8, ordered by a Canadian customer for his wife; about 30 Hammers were built.
The 1991 C 112
A wedge-shaped prototype with gullwing doors nodding to the 300 SL; nearly 700 people ordered one, and Mercedes never sold it.
Good for
- First-Timers
- Nerding Out
- Rainy Days
With kids
Tickets for ages 4 to 11 are $25 and include the Vault; under-4s aren't allowed in the Vault.
Also at Petersen Automotive Museum
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
8
- World-ClassCourtesy of Petersen Automotive Museum
- Screenwriting: Takes on LA NoirCourtesy of Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood IconCourtesy of Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- Studio Ghiblis PONYOCourtesy of Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- Petersen Automotive MuseumDavid Zaitz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Academy Museum of Motion PicturesDowntowngal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)ArchEyes Magazine / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- Craft ContemporaryPaul Esposito / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain