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Located a half-hour north of Chicago, the Volo Auto Museum was established in the 1960s by Greg and Bill Grams.
Today, it draws more than 250,000 visitors per year. The core of the 400-strong vehicle collection is an incredible array of more than 40 TV and movie cars. They include the Back to the Future DeLorean DMC-12 shown here and many from legendary Los Angeles customiser, George Barris. Join us on a tour of some highlights from this unique museum:
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Shelby Mustang GT500 Eleanor (1967)
This Eleanor is one of 11 built for use in the 2000 hit movie, Gone in 60 Seconds. It has a big-block 428ci engine and 4-speed transmission.
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Dodge Monaco Bluesmobile
Set in Chicago, The Blues Brothers features scenes filmed only minutes away from the museum in Volo. No original Bluesmobiles survived filming, but this promotional car was built up on a former California Highway Patrol Monaco to the original production designs.
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Speed Racer Mach 5
The Mach 5 is driven by Speed Racer in the cult anime franchise of the same name. In the US, Speed Racer Enterprises intended to build 500 Corvette-based, road legal Mach 5s, but only five were completed in addition to this prototype.
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Drag U La
Commissioned by George Barris and designed by Tom Daniel, the Drag U La coffin dragster was created for TV show, The Munsters. This car was one of five built by Richard and Keith Dean and featured a 345bhp, 389ci engine and a 3-speed manual gearbox.
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‘Aston Martin Vanquish’ (2001)
If this Vanquish looks a little odd, that’s because it’s not really an Aston Martin. It was built as a stunt car for the 2002 James Bond movie Die Another Day, one of several to be based on Jaguar XK or Ford Mustang chassis with Aston-styled fiberglass bodies. Ford owned Jaguar and Aston Martin at the time.
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Subaru Impreza WRX STI (2014)
The museum purchased this STI directly from Universal Studios, where it had been restored for display after filming. The car is the only survivor of six that were provided by Subaru for use in Furious 7, part of the long-running The Fast and The Furious series that began in 2001.
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SoroSuub X-34 Landspeeder (1977)
The first Star Wars movie was filmed in England at Borehamwood, just north of London. Luke Skywalker’s X-34 Landspeeder also has British origins – the three-wheeled Bond Bug. Filmmakers used pre-computer special effects to create the illusion that the speeder was floating.
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Chevrolet Camaro Bumblebee (1977)
The Volkswagen Beetle was replaced by a Camaro for the first instalment of the Transformers franchise in 2007. This car is one of three built for the movie, complete with painted-on rust and scratches. The Beetle finally took its place at the center of the action in the 2018 blockbuster, Bumblebee.
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Dodge Charger General Lee (1969)
Many General Lees were built for the Dukes of Hazzard’s seven seasons on TV, but this car, #6, is the only survivor from season 1. Built in 1978, it incorporated parts from earlier cars, including the rollover bar from General Lee #1. It has 1,800 miles on the clock and was the first General Lee to be sold to the public.
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Ferrari Daytona replica (1972)
Another vehicle that isn’t quite what it seems, this Daytona replica is one of two built used in the first three seasons of Miami Vice. Based on a 1976 Corvette, it was used as a stunt car in the NBC TV show.
Mindful of the marketing potential, Ferrari later donated two brand-new Testarossa supercars to the production, which also became iconic. A Testarossa-bodied stunt-car was also used, using the underpinnings of a De Tomaso Pantera, which had the same wheelbase.
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Ford Deluxe Greased Lightning (1946)
This Chevrolet 350-powered Ford custom was out of public view for many years before the Volo museum purchased the car and had its restoration completed. The body modifications made to the star of Grease are all-steel.
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TV Series Batmobile (1966)
The original Batmobile is probably the most recognizable TV or movie car of all time. The legendary TV and movie car builder, George Barris (1925-2015) was responsible for its creation, taking the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car as his starting point. The Batmobile at Volo was the 14th to be built by Barris.
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Tumbler
Another of the three Batman vehicles on display at Volo is the Tumbler from the Christopher Nolan-directed movies. It’s the only one in private ownership that has appeared on screen and was restored from a car that was wrecked during production.
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Flintmobile (1994)
Instead of foot-power, a golf-cart chassis motorizes this Flintmobile, one of several constructed for the 1994 Flintstones movie that starred John Goodman. The Volo museum acquired the car from George Barris.
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Plymouth Fury (1958)
No fewer than fourteen Furys portrayed the killer car from the 1983 movie Christine that was based on the novel by Stephen King. Different stunt versions were used to portray different special effects, including a car with internal hydraulics to crush it from within. When played in reverse, the scene appears to show the car ‘healing’ itself.
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Cadillac Wagon (1974)
This unique Caddy was custom built for Elvis Presley from a four-door saloon at a time when Cadillac did not build wagons. The King used it to carry luggage from Graceland to Memphis airport. Having covered only 8,000 miles, it was lost for more than three decades before being restored and displayed in the museum.
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Dodge Charger (1970)
Another Charger, this time a 1970 model from 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. Two stunt cars were built in addition to this, the ‘hero car’ car driven by Vin Diesel. It’s actually a 1969 Charger converted to look like a ’70 and has a fake supercharger on the engine.
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Pontiac Firebird Trans Am KITT (1983)
Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT) was a black Pontiac driven by David Hasselhoff in the 1980s TV series, Knight Rider. Built in 1989 for show and promotional use by custom vehicle builder Mark Scrivani, the talking Trans Am has a fully functioning dashboard.
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Cadillac Hearse
Arnold Schwarzenegger drove this Cadillac in the 2003 movie Terminator 3, which was made shortly before he became Governor of California. Bullet holes were drilled in the car, filled and painted over, then detonated during filming to simulate machine-gun fire.
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Packard 1100 (1934)
Still owned by the Grams family, the Volo Auto Museum now encompasses 33 separate exhibition areas over 35 acres. The displays cover everything from motorcycles to RVs. In and around the exhibits there’s also a huge classic car dealership that sells around 2,000 cars a year. At the time of our visit, this 1934 Packard 1100 five-passenger saloon was for sale at US$54,998.
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Benz Patent-Motorwagen (1986 reproduction)
This is a sanctioned, functioning reproduction of Karl Benz’s landmark vehicle. In 1885, he developed a single-cylinder, petrol internal combustion engine and fitted it to a three-wheeled carriage. Patented the following year, it became the forerunner of the modern car.
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Duesenberg SJ (1933)
One of several Duesenbergs on display in a dedicated room at Volo is this 1933 SJ. With a 316bhp supercharged straight-8 and a Rollston custom body, this 129mph car retailed new for US$20,000 – around $400,000 in today’s money; just 36 were produced.
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The Red Baron
The Volo museum is also home to many famous custom cars, including The Red Baron. It was built by Keith ‘Kid’ Dean as a full-size version of a 1967 Tom Daniel design for a best-selling Monogram model kit. The Red Baron also became a classic Hot Wheels toy car.
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Roller Skate Car
One of a number of bizarre one-offs at Volo is the Roller Skate Car, which was built by Jay Ohrberg. Fully drivable and 14ft high, it’s powered by a Chevy small-block V8. Access to the driver’s compartment is via a ladder in the heel!
If you’ve enjoyed our brief tour, visit the website for more on the Volo Auto Museum.
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