(Words and photos by Joe Grippo) – The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a lot like other high-end car repositories, meaning, you pay your admission and spend some time wandering around a giant building checking out the machines, wondering what they would look and sound like squealing a tire or grabbing some revs. Well at the Simeone, once a month throughout the year, Dr. Frederick Simeone and his crew pull different examples from the museum floor and put them through their paces in the rear 3 acre lot behind the facility. They call these events Demo Days and the public is welcome to join the party. By far the most popular is the last one of the year, The Peopleís Choice Demo Day. Here is how it works, using their social media outlets (Facebook, email blasts and the museum website), the Simeone crew sets up a poll and invites the people to choose which of the 63 museum cars they want to see demonstrated. After a week or so the top four vote getting cars are prepped and the Saturday after Thanksgiving everyone gets to see them in action.

The 2014 Peopleís Choice Demo Day Cars in voting order were:

1. 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe –
Annually the biggest vote getter, the Coupe (CSX2287) has an amazing and varied history. The first of six Daytona coupes built for the GT class of the FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1964, this example chassis CSX2287 won the 12 Hours of Sebring, then caught fire on pit stop at Le Mans, all while being driven by Dave MacDonald and Bob Holbert. Then it was returned to Shelby, freshened up and lent to Craig Breedlove for some Goodyear tire testing at Bonneville. 23 national and internationals speed and endurance records were set with the car. This was ostensibly a way for Breedlove and Goodyear to hog the salt in an effort to keep Art Arfons and Firestone from going for the land speed record. The ownership trail gets even more interesting as famed record producer and noted loose cannon, Phil Spector later acquired the car as his daily driver. That chapter ultimately ends with a sordid tale involving a suicide and a resulting court battle over a later sale. The most recent history to be made by the Coupe was the honor of being the first car named to the National Historic Vehicle National Register, complete with Department of the Interior plaque and official number. Serious stuff.

2. 1966 Ford GT40 Mark II –
Chassis XGT1, was an Allan Mann Racing team car prepped by Shelby American for Le Mans and driven by Sir John Whitmore and Frank Gardner and was a DNF due to a clutch problem. After being stored from 1967 to 1971 a subsequent owner had Holman-Moody restore the car to period specs. The Simeone acquired the GT40 and commenced on a sympathetic updated resto focusing on the 427 power plant with NOS bits from Kar Kraft and the correct T44 transmission re-installed.

3. 1970 Porsche 917 LH –
This 917-043 Long Tail raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 driven by Willi Kauhsen and GÈrard Larrousse and finished 2nd to another 917 in a totential rain storm. Later this car became a Porsche test vehicle and was re-bodied. This thing has been 239.849 MPH down the Muslanne straight with a course average of 149 mph. A gorgeous fiberglass body with the thickness of a Pringles Potato Chip is draped over a light weight chassis and a 600HP 12 Cylinder engine making it one of the coolest cars I have ever seen. The fragile body work necessitated a move indoors for the display portion of Demo Day because raising the huge back end outside would result in a sailboat effect in even the slightest breeze.

4. 1956 Jaguar D-Type –
Raced most of its life in the American Mid-West but this British machineís first start was the 1956 12 Hours of Sebring where Bob Sweikert and president of Jaguar Mid-West Distributors, Inc., Jack Ensley took third place. The D-Type saw action at Watkins Glen, The Wisconsin Grand Prix and even the British Grand Prix at Silverstone where after a slight incident it was repaired at the Jag factory. One of the coolest parts of car is one of the earliest disc brake set up ever in a race car, which surely helped bring down the 250 horse 6 cylinder as it went into the corners. Like most of the Simeone Foundation cars this one has many interesting tales associated with it acquisition. At the Demo Day during his Q&A before driving the car, Dr. Simeone relayed a story about when this D-Type chassis XKD 538 became available and was subsequently purchased, it seems Mick Jagger was the under bidder and was ìa bit miffed when didnít get no satisfaction.î

For more on the Cars, Museum and 2015 Demo Day Schedule check out:
http://www.simeonemuseum.org/