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40 years since the Metro was launched – celebrated online by the British Motor Museum

10th September 2020

Austin Mini Metro 1.3 HLS 1980. A sectioned car demonstrating packaging and interior space. It was silver with paprika trim.

British Motor Museum to host brand new ‘Metro at 40’ online exhibition.

The British Motor Museum is to host a brand new exhibition to celebrate one of Britain’s
best-selling small cars – entitled “Metro at 40”. For the first time the Museum will be
hosting the exhibition online as part of its drive to have more online and accessible
insights into their collection. The exhibition, which went live on 9 September, is free to
view from their website and gives everyone the chance to celebrate this iconic car’s
special birthday.

2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the Austin Metro and 30th anniversary of the Rover
Metro. As part of the anniversary celebrations, the Museum hosted a one day celebration
of the two iconic British small car marques. The National Metro & Mini Show took place
on 6 September and saw enthusiasts enjoy a scaled back, but very enjoyable show.

Cat Griffin, Curator at the British Motor Museum said “We opened our other anniversary
exhibition “Range Rover at 50” in March but due to lockdown it was only open for two
days. As the Museum was closed for three months we decided to extend the run of that
display until 28 September and come up with a new way for people to enjoy the story of
the Metro. We thought it would be a great subject to present as our first virtual
exhibition”.

The online exhibition is packed with all things Metro from the Archive, including facts,
photos and film clips. Visitors can also read about many fond memories of the small
hatchback which have been submitted to the Museum by Metro owners. Anyone that
would like to send in their own Metro musings for the ‘Metro & Me’ feature can email their
stories and images to museum@britishmotormuseum.co.uk

The Museum is now reverting to Friday to Monday opening until October half-term (24
October – 1 November), when it will be open daily, subject to any changes in government
advice. It will then return to Friday to Monday opening throughout November and
December until 20 December when it will close for Christmas, reopening on 2 January
2021.

For more information about the exhibition please visit
www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/explore/temporary-exhibitions

 

Follow the Museum on social media:

Twitter @BMMuseum Facebook www.facebook.com/BritishMotorMuseum
Instagram www.instagram.com/britishmotormuseum

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