‘Lowered Expectations’: Petersen Museum Lowrider Expo Hits Gold
‘Best in Low: Lowrider Icons of the Street & Show’ exhibit celebrates the lowrider culture with a collection of iconic vehicles and some incredible new builds.
The Petersen Automotive Museum has a new featured exhibit called Best in Low. This new exhibit opened on May 12 and will run until spring of 2025. We got an early look at some of the amazing lowrider cars that will be featured. We are highlighting just a few of our favorites for you here. The exhibition includes some iconic builds that you may already be familiar with, alongside some brand-new creations. Along with the vehicles themselves, the techniques used to create them such as the paint, metal finishing, and hydraulics are also explored.
Some lowriders are modified with powerful LS engines, and we of course love to see that. However, outright speed is not the main focus of these vehicles. These cars are about artistic expression and cruising. And cruising is again allowed in the state of California, where the Petersen Automotive Museum is located. For decades the act of cruising was illegal, but a new bill became effective on January 1 of this year, that lifted the cruising ban.
So, you will be able to see and enjoy these creations on the street once again. But if you want to see the best of the best, you will want to buy tickets to the Best in Low exhibit. Click HERE to get your tickets. In the meantime, enjoy some of our favorites below.
‘Game Killa’
“Game Killa” is a 1966 Chevy Caprice and it is one of the most iconic vehicles in the lowrider scene. It is owned by Tina L. Blankenship-Early, who is an icon in her own right. She has been part of the L.A. lowrider scene for more than twenty years and has earned the nickname, “First Lady of Super Naturals” as she was the first to join that car club.
She was also the first woman inducted into the National Lowrider Hall of Fame (2012) and the first woman elected to Lowrider magazine’s Hall of Fame (2023).
Blankenship-Early purchased the car in 2003 and spent years turning it into what it is today. The car has won a countless number of awards and was featured in the 2015 hit film Straight Outta Compton.
‘Simply Beautiful’
This “Simply Beautiful” 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme is owned by another well-known woman in the lowrider scene, Sandy Avila. She is the president of the Pasadena-based Lady Lowriders Car Club. After buying the car in 2018 Avila rebuilt the engine, and suspension while also having it painted and chromed. It looks great, but that is not its claim to fame.
The hydraulic suspension installed in the car allows it to hop 45-inches off the ground and is capable of lifting one wheel completely off the ground.
Gypsy Rose
The 1964 Chevy Impala known as ‘Gypsy Rose’ might be the most famous lowrider of them all. It is the creation of Jesse Valadez, the founder of the Imperials Car Club in East L.A. The car you see here is actually the third iteration of the ‘Gypsy Rose.’ The original was distinctive, but replaced by a second car that was more elaborate. Sadly, that second car was destroyed by vandals.
But that all led to this masterpiece which was completed in 1974. It became famous as the car cruising down Whittier Boulevard during the opening of the classic TV show Chico and the Man. The car is covered in over 100 roses by Walt Pray. The interior is just as distinctive with crushed velvet and decorative light fixtures.
This car may not be as advanced as some of the newer builds when it comes to features such as hydraulics. However, the design is iconic, and it still inspires the lowrider community to this day.
Photos: Derin Richardson
Join the LS1Tech forums now!
