National Historic Vehicle Register

Explore a rotating collection of culturally significant vehicles from the National Historic Vehicle Register, powered by the Hagerty Drivers Foundation, at Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

The National Historic Vehicle Register was created in 2013 in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Historic American Engineering Record. The register is a thorough record of the nation’s most significant vehicles based on the association of four criteria at a national, regional or local level. Archived in the Historic American Engineering Record at the Library of Congress to ensure the perpetuity of our automotive past, the register has four major components:

• Written histories detailing significant provenance and condition
• Detailed photography
• 3D scanning
• Documentary videos

How are 3D scans of each vehicle on the National Historic Vehicle Register created? Watch this clip from The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation to find out.  
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Current Featured Vehicle:

1911 Marmon Wasp

The Wasp is one of America's most significant race cars. Engineer, airplane pilot and race car driver Ray Harroun piloted the custom-built, streamlined, single-seat Marmon to victory at the inaugural Indianapolis 500-mile race in 1911.

In the 100-plus years of racing at the Indianapolis oval track since, the annual Memorial Day competition has become one of the most important races in the world, drawing some of the largest single-day spectator counts for a sporting event.

The Wasp predates the race by a handful of years as it was campaigned by Nordyke & Marmon Co. to promote their passenger autos at many pioneering races around the country. It is believed to be among the first cars to use a rearview mirror, which allowed Harroun a slight advantage in that he did not have a passenger "riding mechanic" watching traffic behind him.