The Blackhawk has been around for over 30 years. It presents and displays historically significant and artistically inspired automobiles from the very earliest age of motoring right up to today’s hottest supercars. Over 50 rotating cars are on display at all times. The BlackHawk Museum is known for its outstanding cars but is also an outstanding cultural and historical museum.
The Blackhawk Plaza is a beautiful place to visit on its own.
The Spirit of the Old West exhibition is dedicated to presenting a balanced narrative of both the Native Americans and the American Settlers. Other simial exhibits are equally educational and entertaining.
Since the Blackhawk Museum is located 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle Danville, CA, some 2,400 miles from our home, my wife and I have only visited twice. You can read about our first visit by clicking here.
Some of the cars were the same on this visit and some of their cars had just been sold so there were some vacant spots on the museum floor. This was a little disappointing but the visit was still very enjoyable. The uniqueness of the Blackhawk Museum car exhibit is in the way the cars are displayed. The only way I can describe it is the cars are like diamonds in a jewelry store display case. The room, floor to ceiling, is back with high powered spotlights focused on the cars to make them sparkle.
The variety of car types is outstanding with something for everyone. They range from early 20th Century Dusenbergs to a 1950’s station wagon to a modern and a one of only forty built Lamborghini Centenario.
This is a 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville. It is 1 of 1 and is powered by a V12. The cane work of the back door is hand-painted. It is known for its copper-plated accents and bumpers and its solid copper running boards. Between 1936 and 1939 727 Phantom chassis were built. This chassis had a coach built limousine body in 1937 but the car was converted to what you see here in 1946. This is a custom 1939 Lincoln Zephyr with a 450 HP Corvette LS-2 engine. It was a 7 year build taking 7,500 man hours. The car has a 6 inch chop and channel, suicide doors, independent suspension and a custom built tube frame.1938 Bugatti Type 57. It is 1 of 139 built. This is a 4 seat car.1956 Ford Parklane Stationwagon. This is a one year only build that was produced by Ford as an answer to the Chevrolet Nomad of 1955. It is powered by a 292 cu. in. Thunderbird V8 and 3 speed manual transmission.This 1954 concept car by Vergil Exner and Coachwork by Ghia of Italy is the 2nd of 4 Fireqrrow concepts. It has no roll up windows.This is 1954 Firearrow IV the 4th of the four Firearrow concepts built. It has roll-up windows and morestandard features found on everyday cars.This concept car was built to be production ready but was never built due to fears it could not sell enough units to be profitable. This1956 Dual-Ghia is called a Firebomb and is based on the Firedarrow concept cars. It is far more evolved and is powered by a Dodge Red Ram V8. It is a 4 passenger vehicle with 100 being produced. Celebrity owners included: Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior!This 1940 Cadillac Series 75 Town Car Limousine was owned by only the absolute pinnacle of society back in the day. Its coachwork was done by Fleetwood.This 2017 Lamborghini Centenario is 1 of only 40 built. Its body and frame are constructed by carbon fiber. It has a 770 HP V12 with rear wheel steering.
I grew up and lived in Iowa for a good portion of my life before moving to Southern California. After 20+ years we now live outside Nashville Tennessee. I have been into cars since I was old enough to remember. I don't have a brand loyalty although I do prefer American Muscle especially the 1969/1970 NASCAR Aero Cars. (Check out our other web site at www.TalladegaSpoilerRegistry.com site) As long as it has four wheels and an engine I get excited. Few men are lucky enough to be able to share their passion for cars with the woman they love. Fortunately, my wife, Katriana, is also a gear head and many of our activities revolve around the cars. We have a small collection that includes at least one car from each of the Big Three. It includes a Best of Show winner, a survivor, a driver with lots of patina and several others. Katrina prefers all original cars while I like to modify them so we have a few of each. When we aren't playing with cars we are out working with or showing our miniature donkeys. You can see more about that part of our lives at http://www.LegendaryFarms.com.
