HMGCC member Ian Hankin recently travelled back to the UK to visit family. While there, he had the opportunity to take his son to the British Motor Museum near Warwick. This museum is the source of the British Heritage Certificates club members can obtain for their cars. According to Ian, it is well worth the visit! Here are just a sample of some of the great cars in the museum:

In the Beginning: The red car is the 1925 MG 'Old Number One'. While not the first MG car, it is a one-off special made for Cecil Kimber, Manager of Morris Garages. He referred to it as his first car, and is typical of the early MGs with special coachwork (in this case, Carbodies of Coventry) on a standard Morris chassis. The engine is an OHV Hotchkiss-type 4 cyl displacing 1496cc.

Slice and Dice: Here is an example of a rotisserie restoration gone horribly wrong. At least the resultant display provides insight into the bowels of the heater cavity.

Safety First: This ungainly beast is 'Safety Systems Vehicle number 1', built in 1972 for a safety conference in Washington DC. It features a roof mounted 120° panoramic rear view mirror and the ugliest rubber bumpers ever mounted on a vehicle. Also a sobriety testing computer, necessary in a car for which one would need a few drinks to be seen in.

 

End of the Road: the last MGB off of the Abingdon assembly line. The 512, 880th MGB rolled out the door on October 22, 1980. This metallic pewter Limited Edition marked the end for Abingdon and represented a new low for management of the British motor industry.

What Might Have Been: This 1989 MG DR2 prototype was developed by Rover while considering the possibility of reviving the MG marque. Based on a TVR, it used the Rover V8 engine later used in the MG RV8. This rear drive model was meant to capture the classic British roadster concept. Eventually the concept was shelved in favor of a more compact, mid-engine design that became the MGF.

- Contributed by Scott Hardy. Photos by Ian Hankin.