Hidden treasure: 12 automotive gems in LA

A gift from Enzo Ferrari to Henry Ford II, this Barchetta (Italian for "little boat") served as one of the design inspirations for the 1955 Thunderbird. The last Barchetta ever built, it was never restored. It didn't need to be. With fewer than 13,000 miles on the odometer, the original engine, paint and upholstery are in mint condition. When the museum bought it in 2005, its estimated value was several million dollars, according to Motor Trend magazine, which called it "one of the most historically significant Ferraris of all time."

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One of the most famous race cars in the world, the Mach 5 had a starring role in the animated TV series and 2008 movie "Speed Racer." After this model was hand-built in 1999, Speed Racer Motors announced plans for a series of 100 road-ready replicas based on front-engine Corvette platforms, but few were actually made. The museum acquired this one at auction in 2000. "This car is sure to bring back childhood memories for those who watched the show, as well as pique the curiosity of younger automobile enthusiasts," Petersen told The Associated Press at the time.

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Outfitted with a sink in the rear, the Barber Shop Car had the potential to be an actual full-service grooming machine, but instead it made the rounds at the International Championship Auto Shows, a series of events organized in the 1960s and '70s that featured hot rods, custom cars, vans and cycles. Its mastermind, Joe Bailon, hit the custom-car scene in 1951 with a relatively tame Chevrolet before moving on to wilder designs such as the Barber Shop Car. In the late 1960s, Bailon began customizing vehicles for Hollywood royalty, creating a Rolls-Royce for Zsa Zsa Gabor and a Cadillac for Dean Martin.

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Once owned by actor Steve McQueen, this Jaguar XKSS is one of just 16 built. It was originally white with a red interior, but McQueen repainted it his favorite shade of green, polished the Dunlop wheels and retrimmed the interior in black. A competent mechanic, McQueen did much of his own maintenance work on the XKSS — that is, when he wasn't speeding through the streets of Los Angeles. McQueen's driver's license reportedly was almost suspended twice during the first year he owned the car. He sold the car in the early 1970s, but bought it back before his death in 1980.

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Built by the Marquis de San Carlos de Pedroso, former horseman to Spain's King Alfonso XIII, this vehicle was tricked out with the most advanced technology of its time; namely, supercharged twin-cam engines with variable timing that could be controlled from the car's cockpit. The marquis, believed to have been a pal of Ettore Bugatti, intended to race the Pedroso in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but an accident in another car prevented him from competing. In the 1960s, the marquis's son shipped the car to the United States for vintage auto-racing events. The only other Pedroso ever built was destroyed in World War II.

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Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the prince of Persia and eventual shah of Iran, received this Bugatti as a wedding gift from the French government. It was built by Parisian coach builder Vanvooren with bells and whistles such as a windshield that can be rolled down. In 1959, the car was sold from the shah's car collection for the paltry sum of $275. It was brought to the U.S., where a series of Bugatti enthusiasts assumed ownership. In 1983 it underwent a complete restoration and was publicly displayed for the first time.

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Two-time winner of America's Most Beautiful Roadster at California's annual Grand National Roadster Show, this vehicle mixes parts from several other cars. Two Model T Fords were used to build the body, and a 1965 Ford Indy race engine provides power. Almost all of the components — both decorative and functional — were handmade, and the car has 24-karat gold plating. It was featured in a 2010 exhibit of AMBR winners at the Petersen Automotive Museum, but now it's nestled in a corner of the vault.

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The Calico Surfer was created during the theme-car heyday of the 1960s, built for Surfing magazine Publisher Calvin Clark by legendary car customizer George Barris, who designed many cars for TV shows, including "The Munsters," "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Batman." (Barris owned the Batmobile until January 2013, when he sold it at auction for $4.6 million.) A true "woodie," the Calico Surfer is decorated with ash wood, a brass radiator ornament and a rearview mirror that's a wooden mini surfboard. The hidden headlights on the sides of the nose are operated by a button on the dashboard.

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This Rolls-Royce Phantom started its career in Detroit, emigrated to England and was sent to Belgium in 1934 to be fitted with twin sunroofs, round doors, a large fin and a sloping radiator shell. Rumor has it that the Duke of Windsor was a one-time owner, but then the car disappeared. It was rediscovered in the early 1950s in a New Jersey garage, at which point a collector painted it gold and began displaying it carnival sideshows for $1 per peek. Eventually it resumed its international journey, landing in Japan before arriving at the Petersen museum in spring 2001.

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The Delage D-8 was a high-speed, long-distance touring machine treasured by wealthy European drivers for its glamour and impeccable handling. Design details such as a trunk fin and a stretched hood made it one of the most stylish cars of the time. This one was selected to represent the French government at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. Afterward, it reportedly fell under the ownership of Shah Wali Khan, viceroy of Afghanistan, who shipped it to Peru for a South American road trip in 1952. Eventually it reappeared in a French barn in the 1990s and was painstakingly restored.

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The Mark I was the ambitious project of a first-time Ohio-based car builder named Richard Bosley. "Since I am a graduate from Ohio State horticulture, I had no background except what I had read in Road & Track," Bosley told the magazine in a 1955 interview. "I made all the body parts myself, but the paint, upholstering and technical assistance were by [an Ohio body shop]." Bosley intended the low-slung fiberglass body to be a sports and racing car wrapped in one, but he never did find funding for mass production, and this prototype was the only one ever made.

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Most of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's vehicles were vandalized or destroyed in bombing raids, but this one escaped the country relatively unscathed after Saddam was overthrown in 2003. Like other landaulet-style cars, it has an enclosed chauffeur's compartment and a top that drops down only over the rear seat so the car's passengers can be seen during parades and other ceremonial events. This Mercedes 600 limo, which sustained a few nicks during the latter part of Saddam's regime, is the most infamous — and one of the most popular — in the vault.

Claire Martin has written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Outside magazine. She's the former deputy editor of Men's Journal and currently lives in Los Angeles, where she covers technology, travel and food.