HICKORY CORNERS, MI -- Rock legend Janis Joplin's 1965 Porsche 356 will return to the Gilmore Car Museum next weekend.
The car will be at the museum in Hickory Corners for the 31st annual Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Experience Sunday, June 4.
Best-selling novelist and noted car collector Clive Cussler was scheduled to be the event's Grand Marshal but won't be able to attend because of some health issues. Joplin's car will take his place.
The car show also will feature "some of the world's most extraordinary motor cars, like the type often featured in Cussler's novels," according to a Gilmore Car Museum press release. They include:
- 1938 Delahaye 135 MS Tear Drop Coupe created for the 1938 Paris Auto Show with its grill painted the colors of the French flag
- 1941 Packard 160 Limo Convertible custom built for the youngest daughter of John D. Rockefeller, considered the wealthiest person in modern history.
- 1949 Jaguar XK120, the most successful XK 120 ever raced in Argentina
"It took him months to complete the paint job that he entitled 'The History of the Universe,'" according to the Gilmore Car Museum's press release. "The car became one of the most recognizable vehicles in the San Francisco area as Joplin used it as a daily driver. Often after she parked it and returned, there would be a least one note under the wipers with messages from fans such as, 'Keep on Rockin'."
After Joplin died in 1970 her car was used by her manager and fell into disrepair. The Joplin family had the car restored by artists and in 2015 it sold at auction for a reported $1.76 million. The car was briefly displayed as part of the car museum's sports car exhibit and its undisclosed owner has agreed to have it back for the June 4 exhibit.
Admission to the show is $12 per person, which includes visiting the Gilmore Car Museum's nearly 400 vehicles and historic campus. Kids under 11 are free.
This car allegedly doesn't have to travel far to be on exhibit, as it's owned by two brothers (the Toll brothers) who are car collectors themselves, and who have a local business at Gull Lake MI. Actually, the north end of Gull Lake is next-to Hickory Corners while the south end of the lake abuts M-89 in Ross Township, by Richland, in the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek region.
Should be a good show, sponsored by the CCCA.
Too-bad Clive Cussler cannot attend, as he always writes-into his adventure stories classic cars usually from the pre-WW II era. I'd still keep an eye out for Dirk Pitt!
The 'common' one, Packard 160 limousine convertible:
The one built for the Rockefeller heir:
Racing Jaguar XK-120 w/alloy panels, blade bumpers deleted, twin racing windscreens, better wear goggles!
