Lyon Air Museum to host ‘Cars & Cockpits’

Lyon Air Museum, a Santa Ana, California, showcase for vintage military aircraft and automobiles, is scheduled to host dozens of rare and luxury high performance sports cars as part of “Cars & Cockpits,” Sunday, Jan. 23, from 10 a.m. to noon at the museum, located at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.

The vehicles — Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs and Mercedes Benz — will be driven by members of the San Francisco-based luxury lifestyle community Luxury4Play.com. In addition, numerous cars owned by several Orange County exotic automobile firms will also be on display.

“This special event, combining horsepower and history, has a definite excitement factor because it presents museum visitors with an exceptional opportunity to view some of the world’s rarest operating luxury sports cars — like the V10-powered Lamborghini Gallardo roadster,” said Mark Foster, president of Lyon Air Museum.

Visitors can compare the modern luxury high performance sports cars with the museum’s own stable of vintage luxury vehicles, including a 1939 Mercedes-Benz Model G4 Offener Touring Wagon (used by Adolph Hitler), a 1947 V-12 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet, and a 1941 Cadillac Series 62 convertible sedan (originally owned by New York socialite Princess Diane Eristavi).

The 30,000-square-foot Lyon Air Museum opened in December 2009. The facility represents the fulfillment of a dream of Maj. Gen. William Lyon, USAF (Ret), who held the position of Chief of the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1975 to 1979. Lyon is Chairman of the Board and CEO of William Lyon Homes, Inc., Newport Beach, Calif. His passion for aviation history and youth education is the driving force behind Lyon Air Museum.

For more information: LyonAirMuseum.org