Non Profit Organisation
The Marconi Automotive Museum is a non-profit organisation that through its activities supports the Marconi Foundation For Kids, that assists numerous children’s charities with financial support. The foundation was started by the museum founder and owner, Dick Marconi, in 1994 based on a philosophy imparted by his father – "Learn, Earn, Return". Having done the first, and succeeded in the second, he decided that it was time to complete the third phase, hence the incorporation of the charity foundation. The museum is open for public tours by appointment only, as it is also hired out as function centre for corporate and private gatherings, thus it is necessary to check that there is nothing in progress at the time of a proposed visit. All proceeds from these activities are channelled to the foundation for charitable use. For each visitor a very reasonable request of $5 is made as a donation to the charity.

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Classic Cornucopia
The museum houses a very broad range of motoring history, with no set period or theme, which provides a wide spectrum of vehicles to enjoy, from a 1937 Ahren Fox fire engine to a wall mounted dragster, with plenty of diversity in between. There are seventy cars in the collection displayed in the main museum area and workshop, along with ten motorcycles in the verandah room at the front of the building.

One of the star exhibits is a 1996 F310 F1 Ferrari of the type raced by Michael Schumacher, which is displayed alongside an ex-Damon Hill Williams FW17-04 loaned by Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd. Other single seater models include the Lola T-9300 Indy car in which Mario Andretti scored his last victory, plus a 1988 ex-Ayrton Senna McLaren Honda F1 car and a Kimberley-Cooper Special.

If muscle cars are your thing then you will love the lurid orange Ford Mustangs, alternatively you can opt for the chrome on the 1956 Cadillac Eldorado, or that classic fifties Teutonic beauty – the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing coupe. There is also an extremely rare example of a Cizeta Moroder, in a menacing black paint scheme, this one fitted with a Ferrari Testarossa engine, or how about a Jaguar XJ 220, a Maserati Bora or De Tomaso Pantera amongst the other high performance cars on show.

Fantasy Ferraris
Within the museum collection there are no less than nineteen Ferrari models, the earliest being a 166 Inter Touring bodied coupe, and the most recent examples being a pair of F50s, with pairs of Dinos and 348 Challenge cars along the way. The rarest are a pair of custom built cars by Pininfarina that were originally destined for Prince Jeffri, brother of the Sultan of Brunei. One is an elegant 456 GT Venezia cabriolet finished in a deep metallic green with complimentary green leather interior, and the other is the stunning F512 M based FX, which is finished a deep metallic blue. The only thing on the body that it shares with its standard cousin is the windshield, all other glass and body panels being completely different, the construction costs must have been astronomical!

If you are ever in Los Angeles then the museum should definitely be on your list of places to visit. It is about a 30-45 minute drive south of LAX airport, dependant upon traffic conditions, close to John Wayne Airport just off Interstate 55.

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Ferrari Models of Note in the Collection