Caravans of exotic cars will blast through Oregon this summer on their annual migration to places with good weather, dry roads and prestigious classic car shows.

Some of these pieces of art on wheels will be hidden inside customized trailers to be discreetly transported from a private showroom-like garage to a one-day display. Others will be out in the open, part of organized car club rallies, gracefully taking the curves on country roads or speeding by on Interstate 5.

But before you can ask, "What is that?" the car that stands out among SUVs is gone in a flash.

Fortunately, people visiting the Portland Art Museum will have a chance to stop and study 17 handmade automobiles and two one-of-a-kind motorcycles that have earned a spot among the world's most important rides.

The museum's exhibition "The Shape of Speed: Streamlined Automobiles and Motorcycles, 1930-1942," which runs June 16 through Sept. 16, spotlights a never-before-assembled collection of revolutionary machines, masterfully pared down to cut through the air.

Even the most devoted car enthusiasts have seen many of these vehicles only in photos.

The exhibition will allow people to have the time to "pause, look and appreciate great design," says museum director Brian Ferriso.

Rare, streamlined cars are making their way into the Portland Art Museum. We are getting a sneak peek of the display before it opens to the public June 16. Posted by The Oregonian on Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Rolling sculpture



Visitors will be able to examine the horizontal lines, low rooflines, angled windshields, rounded front ends and other sleek styling that make these vehicles, even when stationary, look as if they're battling the wind and winning.

Other elements will catch your eye. That's because, from polished headlights to shiny bumpers and all the luxurious materials and bold colors in between, top collectors recognized the exuberant years between the two world wars as the most significant, elegant and valuable era of automobiles.

These lightweight, futuristic vehicles, inspired by airplanes and unfettered imaginations, were realized dreams.

The cars in the exhibit were engineered and styled to go fast, without constraints, says guest curator Ken Gross, a car journalist and former director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. "The intent," he says, "was to design something beautiful with no concern about safety" or protecting drivers or passengers.

Gross points to the 1938 Delahaye 135M, the only one with this particular haute, hand-crafted body designed by famed French coach-builder firm Figoni and Falaschi. "It's a Paris gown on wheels," he says. "It's not practical but when it rolls up, it takes people's breath away."

He promises that everyone will feel a spark from seeing the cars and motorcycles on exhibit, learning about their remarkable history and participating in the programs and events inside and outside the museum.

A talk by comedian and car collector Jay Leno on opening day, June 16, is sold out. But you'll be able to wander around the South Park Blocks on summer weekends to see a stellar line-up of Airstream trailers and other streamlined modes of transportation.



The exhibit zooms us back to a time when getting behind the wheel was exhilarating.

In the 1930s, U.S. and European automotive designers were shifting gears, trimming boxy horseless carriages into aerodynamic experiments, unruly road experiences and noisy fun.

The result: Cars that were curvy, efficient and trailblazing. The beetle-shaped 1936 Stout Scarab, designed by an aircraft engineer, had aluminum panels, movable seats, a sofa and folding table. Gross writes in the exhibition catalog that it was a forerunner of the minivan.

Foreshadowing today's cars

People mocked the 1930 Henderson KJ Streamline motorcycle as something out of a "Buck Rogers" cartoon. Still, it was the first motorcycle with weather protection and luxury features, proving that it, like others in this collection, was ahead of its time.



Many of these distinctive vehicles were never duplicated. The ones that were for sale were costly, especially during the Depression, or too futuristic-looking to attract enough buyers.

The few cars that found an audience include the cool Lincoln-Zephyr Coupe, designed by Edsel Ford with a pointy prow, that "saved Lincoln as a brand," says Gross.

Gross has more stories. He'll gesture to a 1934 BMW R7 concept motorcycle with "streamlined bodywork and artfully shaped fenders" that was hidden in a crate for 70 years. "Instead of a messy chain, it had a three-speed transmission, a flexible coupling, and shaft drive," he writes. "The modern motorcycle was born."

Gross describes the Talbot-Lago T-150C-SS Teardrop Coupe as having been "driven by people who knew all the right people" and having survived "impossible road conditions."

One engineer consulted with aviation pioneer Orville Wright when designing the Chrysler Imperial Model CV Airflow Coupe, which was advertised as "The Magic Carpet of 1934." Only 212 were built and the one in the exhibit is one of two known to survive, according to Gross. He writes that the Airflow Coupe was a "brilliantly conceived and well-executed machine that was simply too modern for its time."

Other names reflected the promise of a jet-like ride: Thunderbolt, Aerolithe (French for "meteorite"), Airomobile and Blue Streak.

"Someone a lot smarter than I, (collector) Miles Collier said, cars are the most important invention of the 20th century that does so much for our lives," says Gross, 76, who still has the first edition of Road & Track he bought when he was 13. And every issue since then.

He says modern cars are moving toward "boring functionality." But after World War I, people rejoiced in surviving, speed was celebrated, and a bespoke car could be made to please the owner, whether a civic leader or daredevil, with a closed coupe or wind-in-your-face roadster.

Museum director Ferriso watched as each of the cars and motorcycles was carefully rolled into place in the gallery.

He says Portland, a "city that is beautifully planned and designed," is the perfect backdrop to an exhibition on design, and that the museum's 1932 modern building, revolutionary for its time as conceived by architect Pietro Belluschi, is the right setting to showcase the era's cutting-edge output.

"The Allure of the Automobile" exhibition in 2011, which Gross also curated, saw more than 100,000 visitors to the Portland Art Museum. But more important than breaking attendance records, says Ferriso, was the cars' lingering impact.

Spotlighting something familiar, says Ferriso, "opens audiences to what an art museum can do."

A Gresham Lincoln-Zephyr coupe's story

Some of the cars on display in the Portland Art Museum's "The Shape of Speed" exhibit are owned by celebrated collectors.



Some surviving cars were just a box of parts or have been reassembled with replacements for missing pieces. It took 10 years to restore the 1934 Chrysler Imperial Model CV Airflow Coupe in the exhibition.



The 1937 Lincoln-Zephyr Coupe -- one of the stars of the exhibition -- was a "barn find": A car underused and perhaps forgotten, parked for a long time under a tarp. Alan Johnson of Gresham found the coupe in 2010 inside an Oregon barn. Miraculously, the original parts were intact, except for the gas tank, which was nearby.



Johnson was confident he could fire up the 81-year-old classic. The self-proclaimed "Ford guy," who spent much of his career as an auto and airplane mechanic, says he "was born with a wrench" in his hand.



Still, he visited the car three times before deciding to buy it. The owner's asking price was at the top of what Johnson could afford.



He has no regrets. In the last few years, the auction value of Lincoln-Zephyrs has increased significantly.



"It's been an adventure and fun to drive," Johnson says of his car, which has the factory paint color of Evergreen poly (metal flake). "The most fun is to go to a cruise-in and just stand close and watch people try to figure out what it is."



Johnson's wife, Carolyn, has a nickname for the steely object of her husband's affection: "Calendar Girl," since the car appeared in a Snap-on Tool calendar photo. She also jokingly refers to it as his "mistress."



-- Janet Eastman



jeastman@oregonian.com

503-799-8739

@janeteastman





Events let you jumpstart your car smarts

The Portland Art Museum has programs and events that enhance its exhibition "The Shape of Speed: Streamlined Automobiles and Motorcycles, 1930-1942," which runs June 16 through Sept. 16:

Talking About Cars with comedian and automobile collector Jay Leno and "Shape of Speed" curator Ken Gross starts at 7:30 p.m. on June 16 (sold out)

Behind the Headlights: Fascinating Tales of the Cars and Motorcycles lecture by Ken Gross starts at 2 p.m. on June 17 and covers designers, engineers, and past and present owners of the vehicles that represent a fascinating time in automotive history ($20).

The Shape of Style: How Streamlining Led the Way to the Modern Automobile: The panel discussion, starting at 6 p.m. on July 18, will be led by curator Ken Gross and include respected art and automobile collector Peter Mullin of the Mullin Automotive Museum, author and French automobile expert Richard Adatto and former General Motors executive director of advanced design David Rand ($20).

Steamlined Sundays: Motorcycles, cars, trucks, Airstream trailers and more will be on display for visitors to enjoy summer weekends on the South Park Blocks. Visit portlandartmuseum.org/exhibitions/shape-of-speed/

Motorcycles in the Park: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 24. Registration is open through June 10.

Cars in the Park: Portland-based Sports Car Market celebrates its 30th anniversary, from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. on July 8. Forty classic sports cars, from 1930s Alfa Romeos to 1960s competition Ferraris will line the Park Blocks outside the museum. The event is a kickoff for Keith Martin's Sports Car Market 30th Anniversary Tour.

Oregon travel trailers and trucks: The event from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Aug. 5 celebrates Airstream trailers, which began with Baker City-born Wally Byam, and lightweight aluminum trucks, conceived by Leland James of Portland-based trucking company Consolidated Freightways. New and vintage travel trailers will be on display, thanks to the Oregon Airstream Club, along with a very special restored vintage Freightliner truck.