London Motor Museum
London Motor Museum is the only museum in Europe that has a unique collection of classic, original and modified cars from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. In addition to the huge collection that includes American and European machinery, there are also many famous cars on display here, such as the Batlobil, the Delorean from Back to the Future, or the Ford Torino from Starsky and Hutch.
Hot rods, American muscle cars and lowriders are also well represented in the car museum. A few words should be said about each of these varieties. A hot rod is a modified car, designed to achieve the highest possible speed. The term most likely originated from the phrase combination “hot roadster” and became commonly used in 1930-1940 for a car with a forced engine. The roadsters were usually chosen for conversion into hot-rods, because of their low weight. Often, for added lightness, the cars had their fenders, hoods, and other add-on parts of the body, which gave these cars a very distinctive appearance, which later became a kind of “classics”. An indispensable accessory of hot-rods – big rear wheels, allowing to use the engine power as much as possible.
Muscle car is a class of cars that existed in the United States in the mid-1960s – mid-1970s. A muscle car is defined as a medium-sized (intermediate, or midsize) by American standards car with an engine designed for a larger, “full-size” car.
Lowrider is a car having a number of distinctive features, first of all very low and “flowing” seats. Such cars are created to impress, achieve effective and memorable appearance, sometimes even to the detriment of driving characteristics.
The London Motor Museum exhibits privately owned American and European classic cars from the 1930s to the present day.
The history of the museum began in 2001 and at first it had only 7 cars. In 2005 the museum moved to North Acton with a collection of 30 cars. As the collection grew steadily, after a while the car museum was moved to a large 15,000 square foot facility in West Risleep. In October 2007, the museum moved again, this time to Hayes, where it remains today. Today, its exhibit includes more than 200 cars. Since moving to Hayes, the museum has greatly expanded and acquired new exhibits. In 2013, the museum was completely renovated, and another exhibit opened in the renovated exhibition space, the Bat Cave (described below).
The museum features such interesting examples as the 1937 Auburn Speedster, 1967 GT500 “Eleanor,” 1937 Lincoln Zephyr, etc.
In addition to the collection of classic cars, the museum boasts a large selection of unique vehicles. These include Muscle Car Alley, the “Supercar Paddock,” featuring some of the fastest cars in the world, the “Bat Cave,” where the 1966 and 1989 Batmobiles found a home, and many other automotive curiosities.
In 2012, the museum was incorporated as a public interest company (CIC) and became actively involved in the community. The museum provides a rental service for its unique cars, and they are used at various events, parades, and in filming music videos with songs by the Black Eyed Peas, The Game, Connor Maynard, and others. The museum has a gift store and cafe.
In 2012-2013 the Automobile Museum London took part in all the biggest events of the automotive life of Great Britain – Goodwood Festival of Speed, Privé Salon, Top Gear Live, Autosports.
