Category: British Motor Museum

1. British Motor Museum to run a full schedule of shows this summer!

   Posted on 12:00pm Wednesday 31st Mar 2021

   The British Motor Museum is gearing up to run a full schedule of motoring shows and events this year. Following the Government’s road map announcement the Museum is planning to reopen on 17 May and is delighted to say that its popular show season will also return in line with all government guidelines.

   Over 14 shows and rallies are being planned for the summer, to include the return of several popular events such as the Land Rover Show, Retro Truck Show as well as some brand-new events. The show season kicks off with the ever popular Metro and Mini Show on 6 June followed by 3 car club rallies: Ford Nationals on 27 June and the TR Drivers Day and Mogfest on 10 July. The BMC and Leyland Show will return on 11 July, the Old Ford Rally on 18 July and take two of the MGF’s 25^th anniversary with the MGF 25+1 Anniversary Rally on 24 July.

   The Museum is asking all visitors and exhibitors planning to be at any of the gatherings, rallies or shows to pre-book their tickets early to avoid disappointment. Events around the country will have limited capacity in keeping with Government guidelines.

   The Gaydon Land Rover Show is back on 31 July & 1 August (a changed date for 2021) bringing the finest vehicles, owners and historians together for a weekend dedicated to this iconic marque. The EV Electric Vehicle Festival takes place on the 7 August and the Classic and Vintage Commercial Show, which this year includes the Transit Van Club Rally and Classic Van and Pick Up Show, returns on 14 & 15 August (also a changed date).

   Continuing through the summer, new to Gaydon is ‘Autolicious’ on 29 August. This event presented by Audi-licious is a rare opportunity to see an array of stunning cars on display including Audi, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Bentley, Porsche, Mercedes, Lamborghini and VW.

   The Gaydon Jaguar Show, which began in 2020, returns on 4 September and is billed as a friendly, informal gathering for all Jaguar fans, owners and enthusiasts. The Retro Truck Show returns on 11 & 12 September and to round the show season off the last two events are indoor; the Large Model Aircraft Show on 24 October and the Great British Model Railway Show on 30 & 31 October.

   The Museum is keen to remind any car clubs still looking for a venue for a rally, gathering or marque event for 2021 or beyond, that the Museum offers the perfect setting with its two hard standing arenas as well as indoor meeting space. It also offers special discounted rates for clubs. To find out more contact the bookings team on 01926 649649.

   The Museum will continue to monitor the Government advice and keep visitors informed of any changes. All visitors are reminded that in line with the Museum’s new policy, everyone, including those with annual passes, must pre-book tickets so they can be contacted if there are any changes to the show. 

   Tickets for most of the events are now on sale and more information about these can be found at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on 2021 admission prices have been frozen from 2020 and are: Adults £14.50, Children £9 (5-16 years), under 5’s free, Concessions £12.50 and a Family ticket £40 (2 adults & up to 3 children). These prices exclude 5 special show days – see website for details. Tickets to the events also include entry to the Museum & Collections Centre.

2. Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust unveils new E-type Exhibition to commemorate its 60th Anniversary

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 16th Mar 2021

   Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT) has today unveiled a new E-type Evolution Exhibition at the British Motor Museum to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the launch of the Jaguar E-type. The Exhibition tells the story of the evolution of the E-type from the racing C and D-types of the 1950s, the E2A Prototype, its launch at Geneva on 15 March 1961 and finishes with a couple of very successful Racing V12 E-types from the 1970s.

   Currently closed under COVID-19 restrictions the Museum is planning to reopen on Monday 17 May and the exhibition runs to the end of June.  It starts with a quick summary of the story of the launch of the E-type at the Parc des Eaux Vives in Geneva,  which has now gone into Jaguar Legend.  Jaguar PR man, Bob Berry drove the Fixed Head Coupé 9600 HP to act as the press car but there was so much demand for press drives that Sir William Lyons instructed test driver Norman Dewis to drive the E-type Roadster 77 RW from Coventry, across to Geneva, to arrive before 10:00 the following morning.

   Specially for this exhibition JDHT have colour enhanced the famous image of Sir William Lyons with 9600 HP in Geneva and this greets visitors as they arrive at the Mezzanine Gallery. Norman Dewis is also there, on video, regaling us with the tale of what has become known as his ‘Mad Dash to Geneva’. JDHT have put together a very special selection of cars to show their ‘Evolution’ theme, most from their own Collection but a few that have very generously been loaned to them for the duration.

    

   • 1953   C-type NDU 289 – bought to race in the 1953 Mille Miglia
   • 1956   D-type 393 RW – finished 6^th at Le Mans and 1^st at Reims
   • 1960   E2A Prototype – famous link between the D-type and E-type – raced at Le Mans in 1960 by Briggs Cunningham
   • 1961   E-type Series 1 Roadster 77 RW – the first E-type Roadster
   • 1963   E-type Series 1 Fixed Head Coupé YKE 374A –JDHT’s superb Series 1 Coupe
   • 1966   E-type Series 1 4.2 litre PRP 149D – the 4.2 litre version of the Series 1 is considered by many to be the best choice of E-type
   • 1969   E-type Series 2 NNH 103H – JDHT’s own Series 2 Roadster
   • 1971   E-type Series 3 V12 – The Fastest E-type in the World
   • 1974   E-type Series 3 V12 – from Bob Tullius’ Group 44 US racing team

    

   The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust does not just preserve their collection of cars for the nation but the archive preserves Jaguar related documentation, advertisements, artworks and other artefacts as well – a number of these are on display in this exhibition.

   In 2011, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the E-type the Trust commissioned local artist Ian Cook (PopBangColour) famous for creating paintings using model cars, to produce a painting of 77 RW.  He started this on the evening of the Gala Dinner and finished it in time to unveil at the end of the dinner.  This will be on display with 77 RW parked in front of it, whenever possible.  77 RW is booked for a few outings during the duration of the exhibition so won’t be on display all the time.

   The work of aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer, who was responsible for the body design of the C, D and E-types, has its own special display which includes a number of wind tunnel models.

   A series of adverts has been reproduced on the mezzanine wall area.

   The sectioned V12 engine that JDHT owns is fuel injected not carburetted so XK Engineering in Shilton have loaned them their display engine which has the correct four Stromberg carburettors fitted.   This normally greets visitors to their own reception in Shilton.

   The exhibition is included in the normal Museum admission.  Museum entry is £14.50 for adults, £12.50 for concessions, £9 for children (5-16 years) and under 5s are FREE.  There is also the option to Gift Aid or donate your entry fee and get an Annual Pass in return, at no extra cost.

   To find out more information about this exhibition please visit the website at https://www.jaguarheritage.com/event/etype-evolution-exhibition  or call 01926 927 823.

3. British Motor Museum announces new partnership to bring its photographic collection to the nation!

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 12th Mar 2021

   The British Motor Museum is delighted to announce a new partnership with King & McGaw to make its extensive photographic archive available around the world. King & McGaw are print on demand artwork specialists based in East Sussex, they make beautiful and affordable artworks and already supply many of the world's greatest museums and galleries including the V&A and The National Gallery.

   This new print partnership will enable the nation to bring heritage images of the British motor industry into their home. The Museum’s photographic collection includes images of classic marques, such as Austin Healey, Triumph, MG, Mini, Rover, Land Rover, Austin, Morris, Riley and Wolseley; as well as advertising and fashion from the roaring twenties to the swinging sixties; giants of the motor industry such as William Morris (Lord Nuffield) and Alec Issigonis; the rich and famous including Winston Churchill and many more.

   A selection of 77 images are now available to purchase in a range of sizes and as either a print, framed print or canvas, with more coming online in the future. Each sale will support the work of the Museum to care for and preserve its collections and archive for future generations. Each print is hand produced in the King and McGaw workshop and can be delivered to the UK or around the world.

   Toby Batchelor, Head of Commerce at the British Motor Museum said “It is part of the Museums ethos to make our collection as accessible to as many people as possible - this new initiative will allow motoring fans to own their very own bit of British motoring heritage. King & McGaw came highly recommended by other museums so we know that we are offering our customers the very best of British in supplying our unique prints”.

   Ian Barham, King & McGaw's Head of Business Development said, "As we approach forty years of proudly manufacturing in the UK, King & McGaw are delighted to partner with the British Motor Museum to make stunning images from their renowned archive available as high quality prints with hand-finished frames."

   Prices range from £25 for a small art print to £200 for a large solid wood framed print. For more information about the prints please visit https://shop.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/collections/archive-prints

   For more information about King & McGaw please visit https://www.kingandmcgaw.com/

4. February's 'Future Fuels' lockdown family fun with the British Motor Museum!

   Posted on 12:00pm Saturday 13th Feb 2021

   With no ‘days out’ allowed this half-term the British Motor Museum is offering families a range of free fun activities to enjoy from home as a welcome break from home-schooling! These February activities explore future fuels and are available online from the Museum’s website www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/online-future-fuels. Children can take part in a wordsearch, a fantastic fuels quiz, and even watch a Science Show!

   As it looks like the Museum will have to remain closed for longer than it hoped, it will continue to bring new family activities online each month until it is allowed to re-open. March’s activities will be themed around Woman’s History Month and April will focus on the 1921 London Bus, which is on permanent loan in the Museum’s collection.

   For families with children aged five and under the Museum’s regular Mini Motorists will still take place on the 3^rd Monday of every month, but for now these are being delivered as a live story-time on Facebook. This month they will be a storytelling of Chris Van Dusen’s ‘If I Built a Car’ live on the Museum’s Facebook page at 11am on Monday 15 February. The theme for 15 March  will be ‘Ready, Steady, Go’ whilst the theme for 19 April will be ‘Bessie is our friend’.

   Videos of all the Museum’s stay at home activities dating back to last year’s lockdown  can be found on the Museum’s YouTube channel
   

   The Museum is also delighted to announce that in recognition of its focus in making the Museum more accessible to families, it is a finalist in the Ankle Biters Awards 2021 for Warwickshire in the 'Best Museum' category. The Museum would love to encourage people to vote by clicking here by 28 February. Voting is completely free of charge! 
   

   Emma Rawlinson, Life Long Learning Officer at the British Motor Museum said “We are delighted to host a range of fun activities for visitors to enjoy from home over the February half term and until the Museum can once again re-open. All of our activities are free of charge although donations would be most grateful. As we can’t physically see our visitors we would love them to share photos of their completed activities by uploading them to our website, emailing them to us or posting on our Facebook page!”

   For more information about the online activities please visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/online-future-fuels 

   and https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/mini-motorists-february

    

5. British Motor Museum wins a prestigious Royal Automobile Club Historic Award!

   Posted on 12:00pm Saturday 30th Jan 2021

   The British Motor Museum has won a prestigious Royal Automobile Club Historic Award in the Collection category. The annual Awards were announced on 28 January and recognise outstanding achievements within the British historic motoring and motorsport world. The judges had an impressive and diverse list of candidates across all 8 categories to scrutinise. The British Motor Museum fought off strong competition from the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and Vauxhall Heritage to win the highly coveted Collection category award.

   The Museum won the award for a number of reasons, namely hosting three exhibitions during 2020 and through two lockdowns. These included a major exhibition celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the Range Rover and “Metro at 40” which celebrated one of Britain’s best-selling small cars. The exhibition is free to view from the Museum’s website and gave everyone the chance to celebrate this iconic car’s special birthday. 

   In October 2020 the Museum opened an exhibition from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust. “When Jaguar Bought Daimler” told the story of when Jaguar bought the Daimler Company from BSA in 1960. The Museum also remained very active online throughout the unprecedented year with its #historybeginsathome social posts and a lively blog. On 13 October 2020 the Museum held its first ‘Gaydon Gathering’, an informal socially-distanced evening for enthusiasts and their classics, with the opportunity to see the Museum's collection in action.

   Jeff Coope, Managing Director at the British Motor Museum said “We are delighted to have won the Collection category award. I would like to thank the Royal Automobile Club for continuing to hold the awards this year despite the challenges this must have presented. I would also like to thank the team at the British Motor Museum, not only for their hard work and enthusiasm throughout this exceptional period but also for thinking laterally - for never being satisfied with just closing the museum when we had to…. “If people can’t come to the museum then the museum can go to the people” was the thinking. We increased the content and output on our social media platforms and developed our learning programmes to make them available online. The Metro at 40 exhibition was put together by our curatorial and archive team and has been a fantastic success, receiving lots of regional and national press interest and even appearing on BBC Breakfast! We are still receiving Metro memories from owners past and present which goes to prove that this humble little car is still working for the British Motor Industry!”

   For more information about the Awards visit www.royalautomobileclubhistoricawards.co.uk

   To find out more about the British Motor Museum visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk. For more information about the exhibitions please visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/explore/temporary-exhibitions