‘The Shape of Speed’ Brings Streamlined Classics To Portland

If you live in Portland and are into classic cars, we have good news for you. The local art museum is preparing to stage a pretty sweet-looking exhibit of vintage automobiles and motorcycles.

Called “The Shape of Speed,” the exhibit will feature 16 streamlined cars and two motorbikes from the 1930s and early ’40s. They’re mostly European models, with a couple of American ones in the mix. And some of them are pretty rare beasts indeed.

Among the vehicles on display will be the Bugatti Aerolithe – or rather, we surmise, the recreation thereof. The original concept (which previewed the famous Type 57 Atlantic coupe) was lost after 1935. But a group of Canadian restorers built a replica in 2013, and it’s been making the rounds of exclusive events in the years since.

Equally gorgeous is the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS that will join the Bugatti in the exhibition. They’ll be accompanied by a Delahaye 177 RS and Panhard X76. If you’re more into American wheels, you’ll want to check out the 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt concept or the Stout Scarab bus. Meanwhile motorcycle enthusiasts will be enamored of the BMW R7 concept bike and the semi-enclosed Westfall Henderson.

A more impressive array of Art Deco vehicles you’re not likely to find. At least, not outside of the Mullin Automotive Museum. And that’s a fourteen-hour drive south from Portland in Oxnard, California (and isn’t open to the public). Guest-curated by noted automotive historian Ken Gross (former director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA), “The Shape of Speed” opens on June 16 and will remain open throughout the summer. So whether you live in the area or are thinking of visiting Oregon, you may want to set aside an afternoon to spend at the museum.