Coventry Transport Museum

Jake Davies

The Coventry Transport Museum has over 200 bicycles in its collection. — The Coventry Transport Museum has over 200 bicycles in its collection

History

The Coventry Transport Museum is a world-class museum devoted primarily to all forms of road transport located in the city that was the birthplace of the British bicycle and car industries.

Home to such famous names as Jaguar, Daimler, Alvis, Humber, Hillman, Riley, Singer, & Triumph, among others, Coventry was the heart of the British car industry, with Daimler making what is claimed to be the first car in production in Britain.

The car industry built upon the bicycle industry which had established itself in Coventry earlier, with French-designed "Bone-shakers" being built in 1868, followed by the design of the "Penny-farthing" types and eventually the basic design of the bicycle as we know it now the Stanley Safety Bicycle produced in 1985. It is possible that by the 1890's Coventry was home to the biggest bicycle industry in the world.

The museum opened in 1980 after the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum ran out of space for its fast-growing collection of vehicles and bicycles.

The museum recently underwent a major redesign and refurbishment and now has 14 different galleries. The museum is also home to a major program of restoration work on old vehicles, offering insights that can even inspire enthusiasts looking to find tyres for classic and vintage cars. It also has an ever-growing archive of historical materials related to the car industry and Coventry.

The museum was initially called the Road Transport Museum, and though the name has changed to "Transport" the vast bulk of the exhibits still concern themselves with road transport.

Vintage cars aplenty at the Coventry Transport Museum. — Vintage cars aplenty at the Coventry Transport Museum

Exhibits

The collection now includes over 300 different bicycles with just about every single type included.

The motorbike collection has over 150 pieces including a couple of famous ones that made round the world journeys including a Rudge that did it in 1928.

The history of the British car industry is on display at the Coventry Transport Museum. — The history of the British car industry is on display at the Coventry Transport Museum

Goods From Japan delivered to your home or business. — Goods From Japan delivered to your home or business

Plenty of standard production-model cars built in Coventry. — Plenty of standard production-model cars built in Coventry

Fastest Cars in the World

There are lots of vintage cars but also plenty of standard production models made in Coventry. The 450 cars include numerous vehicles used by royalty including the mini metro owned by Diane before she married Prince Charles.

The collection also includes many other types of transport including buses, trucks, military vehicles, tractors etc.

The exhibition are constantly changing and also includes vehicles brought in from outside. Some exhibits focus on social themes related to the car industry like the Blitz of World War II and the labor unrest of the 1970's.

There are also plenty of interactive exhibits detailing the design, engineering, and technological elements in car design.

Perhaps the jewels in the crown of the museum's collection are the two fastest cars in the world. Thrust2 broke the world land speed record in 1983 with a speed of 633.468 mph and later in 1997 ThrustSSC broke it again with an amazing speed of 763 mph, a record that still stands. A very popular experience at the museum, with an extra fee, is what they call the 4D Simulator which purports to give you the experience of driving the ThrustSSC.

Exhibitions are changing all the time and special exhibitions are also put on. There is a variety of events, many aimed at children, throughout the year.