Rare classics saved from WWII at CCCA Museum’s new exhibit: ‘Hidden Treasures – Classics Preserved in the Shadows of War’
The Classic Car Club of America Museum (CCCAM) announces the opening of its newest exhibition, Hidden Treasures: Classics Preserved in the Shadows of War, on view now through November 1.
Hickory Corners, Michigan — The Classic Car Club of America Museum (CCCAM) announces the opening of its newest exhibition, Hidden Treasures: Classics Preserved in the Shadows of War, on view now through November 1, 2026.
The exhibit tells the remarkable true stories of three rare Full Classics®—limited-production luxury automobiles built between 1915 and 1948—that survived World War II by being hidden from invading forces under extraordinary and often perilous circumstances.
At the center of the exhibition are three exceptional automobiles:
● 1931 Duesenberg J-423 (Derham Tourster) — Hidden beneath a haystack in rural Italy, concealed to avoid wartime seizure.
● 1938 Packard Twelve Club Sedan — Owned by Nobel Prize-winning writer Maurice Maeterlinck and protected on his estate in southern France, just miles from the Allied invasion of Operation Dragoon.
● 1939 Buick Redfern Saloon — Secreted in the basement of a Danish furniture factory, shielded from the destruction sweeping across Northern Europe.
Through immersive, historically inspired environments, visitors experience the very conditions in which these automobiles were hidden—from farm structures to private estates and industrial spaces—revealing the ingenuity and quiet courage that preserved them.
“This exhibit is about more than automobiles—it’s about preservation as an act of resistance,” said John Hansen, Executive Director of the CCCA Museum. “These cars survived because someone chose to protect them in the face of war and chaos across Europe.”
Hidden Treasures runs through November 1 at the CCCA Museum, located on the campus of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan.
For more information, visit cccamuseum.org or call 269-671-5333.
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