Question of the Day - 24 September 2015

To call it an "auto museum" is something of a stretch, since the only vintage vehicle on display at Whiskey Pete’s (part of the Primm Valley Resorts trio of hotel-casinos south of Las Vegas) is the notorious Bonnie & Clyde "death car." Yes, this bullethole-riddled V8 is the real deal, as officially verified by the Ford Motor Company, and has been on display at various locations in and out of Nevada in the intervening years since Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow’s two-year robbery-and-murder spree was brought to an abrupt and bloody conclusion on May 22, 1934 (see Question of the Day 12/23/2010).

Having settled at Whiskey Pete’s for some years, in 2010 the vehicle was relocated to a sister property in Reno for awhile, but since some time in 2011 it’s been back at Whiskey Pete’s, where it’s on view to see and, should you feel so inclined, take your picture with, for no charge.

While this Primm attraction consists of one sole vehicle, Las Vegas is home to several other diversions of interest to car lovers, both vintage and modern. Here’s the lowdown:

• At the flashy and exotic end of the spectrum, you'll need to strike fast to catch the Penske Wynn Ferrari Maserati showroom, located by the poker room/parking garage, which debuted with the property back in 2008. It currently showcases some 35-40 exotic sports cars, actually spread across two showrooms, and the entry fee (even if you're buying!) is $10, but it's set to close sometime around mid October.
• In better news for the contemporary-auto fan, Del Toro restaurant at Palazzo is still home to the Las Vegas Car Museum, normally featuring a fleet of 15-20 of some of the world's most popular luxury speed vehicles (about half the collection is on loan to a private event until early October) which you can both look at and, in some instances, actually take for a spin. To peruse the museum, it's $5 for single visitors and groups of up to four; for five people or more, it's still only $10, so a lot cheaper than Wynn, and if you opt to try the "Las Vegas Exotic Cars Driving Experience," that charge is waived. The experience lasts 30 minutes, with the first five minutes taken up by their driver taking you away from the Strip so you can enjoy testing out the vehicle on the open road, then you have 25 minutes behind the wheel yourself. Options include $100 for a Ferrari, $150 for a Porsche or Aston Martin (James Bond style!), or $250 to drive a Lambo. They currently have a 15%-off online coupon, too.
• On the vintage front, what's billed as the world's largest collection of classic cars at The LINQ is a throwback to the property's former Imperial Palace days and was one of the passions of controversial former owner Ralph Engelstad (of Nazi-sympathizer notoriety), who unveiled The Auto Collections exhibit on the fifth floor of a new parking garage that opened on December 1, 1981. A cover charge of $11.95 currently applies to view the rotating collection of more than 250 antique, muscle, famous, special-interest, and otherwise historically significant automobiles dating from the 1920s to 1980s, which together are worth in excess of $100 million. Some of them are for sale, too.
• In addition, there are several companies in town offering the exotic-auto test-drive option, like Vegas Exotic Rentals, which offers daily rentals ranging from a daily rate of $625 (includes 100 miles of driving) for a Cadillac Convertible, up to $1,575/day for a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster.

And there's more!

• Another heads-up from a reader was the first we'd heard about downtown's Hollywood Cars Museum which, we discover, debuted last December at 5115 Dean Martin Dr. and is open daily, from 10 am to 5 p.m., and features almost 100 famous TV and movie vehicles, ranging from James Bond's Lotus "submarine car," to a Batmobile, to the Delorean from Back to the Future,, Herbie the Love Bug, the Grand Torino from "Starsky and Hutch," the Coffin Dragster from "The Munsters," and even another Bonnie and Clyde "Death Car," this one from the 1967 movie. There appears to be a cover charge for adults, but we haven't determined what that is yet, so give 'em a call on 702-331-6400 if you want more info.

A reader wrote in to say, "Don't forget the Shelby factory tour and showroom, with numerous Shelby Cobras and Mustangs on display, out near the race track." They're right, and we did forget! Here's the lowdown:

• The Shelby Heritage Museum (6405 Ensworth St.; 844-9-SHELBY) is open to the public seven days a week (Mon-Sat, 9:30 am to 6 pm; Sun. 10 am to 4 pm) for free and features a large collection of Shelby Mustangs from various eras. 90-minute guided tours are available at select times (Mon-Fri, 10:30 am and 1:30 p.m.; Sat. 10:30 a.m.) and are also free and require no reservation. Find out more information on the official website. Plus, if you want to test drive a model from the world’s largest fleet of exotic cars on an actual race track, the Exotics Racing Experience is for you! Take your pick from more than 50 cars and 14 models from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Corvette, or the Nissan GT-R. All cars are equipped with paddle shifters to accommodate all skill levels and on-board dash cameras to capture the look on your face. Visit the website for pricing (it starts at $200), availability, and other information.