Two decades after the Petersen Automotive Museum opened its doors to the public, the museum celebrated its 21st anniversary with a complete redesign, adding 25 new mesmerizing galleries totaling over 100,000 square feet. Now in its 23rd year, the museum has opened more exhibits in 2017 than it had in any previous year. New exhibits included "The High Art of Riding Low", "Seeing Red: 70 Years of Ferrari" and "The Art of Bugatti". Galleries containing more than 350 legendary vehicles compliment a suite of new interactive exhibits, including a Disney Pixar: Cars augmented reality experience and an Xbox/Forza racing simulation.

Xbox Forza Motorsport Racing Experience

The New Petersen will feature ten cutting-edge racing simulators and eight eight stand up consoles. Simulator competitions will be held regularly, including a special 24-hour Le Mans event during which qualifying teams will pilot simulators as if they were actually on the track in France, driver changes coinciding with race pit stops.

Disney Pixar Cars Mechanical Institute Children’s Educational Program

At the Mechanical Institute, beloved characters from the hit Cars movies such as Lightning McQueen and Mater guide teams of children through the ins and outs of how the engine, transmission, suspension, fuel and electrical systems work. Kids can also pick up an iPad for a unique experience building their very own race car from the initial sketch to their custom paint job. Using Augmented Reality, visitors can see each stage of their creation as actually a part of the museum's collection. The experience concludes with an exhilarating race supervised by Lightning McQueen.