Peter Lyon
July 23, 2025
If you’re a car styling diehard from the 1960s and 70s, and you want to check out the best, most influential wedge-shaped car designs of the last 60 years, then pop into the Petersen Automotive Museum in L.A., California next month for a real treat.
Located in the Sam and Emily Mann Design Gallery, the exhibit will explore the development and impact of wedge-shaped automotive designs from the 1960s through the 1980s. Co-curated by Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, the exhibit will showcase these bold and angular styles and their influence on current automotive designs. Hmmm, I wonder if Franz is going to bring along a wedge-shaped Tesla Cybertruck
It will open to the public on August 2.
Highlighted vehicles include:
1966 Cannara I
Ray Cannara, a native Floridian was a successful designer from the start winning a $4000 scholarship in the 1962 Fisher Body Guild contest at age 15. At 18 he was accepted into the prestigious ArtCenter for Transportation Design located in Los Angeles, California. Ray modified the frame for the Cannara I from a 1958 Chevrolet, to support the highly individualistic body. The styling of the car extended to the cockpit and dashboard as well. Ray kept the car in his possession through the mid 1970s when he sold it to a friend, but soon languished in storage. The team at Undiscovered Classics found the car in 2015 and worked with Hemmings Motor News to identify what it was and who built it. Restoration started in 2019 and was finished in early 2022.
1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero
The Lancia Stratos Zero or Lancia Stratos HF Zero is a concept sports car from the Italian automobile manufacturers Bertone and Lancia. It was presented at the 1970 Turin Auto Show, predating the introduction of the Stratos HF prototype by 1 year, and the production Lancia Stratos by three years. It is currently owned by Phillip Sarofim.
1974 Lamborghini Countach LP400 “Periscopio”
First unveiled in at the 1971 Geneva Auto Show, and then launched 3 years later. The Countach LP400 was arguably legendary designer Marcello Gandini’s greatest design. Powered by Lamborghini’s well-established 4L V12, the LP400 offered 370hp, and is notable for being equipped with a periscope-like system in order to improve rearward visibility. This periscope system was only available on the LP400, with later models fitted with a more traditional rear-view mirrors. As such, it is common to see these early Countachs labeled as “periscopios.”
Other models on display include the 1979 Aston Martin Bulldog, the 1976 Chevrolet Aerovette and several more.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
For car nuts, this display will be part car show, part art exhibition as it looks back at extreme car designs since the 1960s Flower Power movement. To see a mint-condition Countach, Stratos, and Cannara in one visit, all hosted by Tesla’s top designer, is a treat not to be missed.
