High Museum brings antique conceptual cars to Atlanta

The “Dream Cars” exhibit shows off a rich history of ambition

May 19, 2014

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carcrop — L’Oeuf électrique,1942. Designed and fabricated by Paul Arzens. Courtesy Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France. Photo by Michel Zumbrunn and Urs Schmid; retouching: Ryan Hayslip

For its “Dream Cars” exhibition, which runs May 21 through September 7, the High Museum of Art becomes a showroom for seventeen concept cars built by Ferrari, GM, and Porsche.

The fleet represents auto design ambition from the 1930s through the twenty-first century, including a 1953 Firebird I XP-21 that resembles a small jet. (You do not want to know how much it costs to fill that tank.) On the more frugal side, there’s the energy- saving L’Oeuf électrique (pictured), which Paul Arzens designed in 1942 and used during the Nazi occupation of Paris. The bubble-shaped precursor to the Prius and Leaf makes its first U.S. appearance.

This article originally appeared in our May 2014 issue under the headline “Dream Machines.”