The National Motor Museum tells us:
(All words and photographs from The National Motor Museum).
Work has started on a £600,000 project that will give the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu a new look to its entrance hall and upper-gallery and re-introduce visitors to the story of motoring in Britain. The work will create a new contemporary museum display interpreting the ages of the development of motoring in the UK.
The new exhibition, “Driven: Britain’s Motoring Story” will delve into the social and cultural impact of the motor vehicles.
Jon Murden, Chief Executive of the National Motor Museum says, “This will herald an exciting new look to the Museum from the Spring of 2026. Creating a new welcoming space and re-interpreting the galleries with entertaining and informative displays with the overarching story of motoring from its earliest times to the present day.”
“Britain without cars and motorcycles would be unrecognizable – they have changed the shape of our cities, nations and landscapes, revolutionized the way we make and sell things, and transformed how we live our lives.
From assembly-line mass-production to electric cars the new gallery will share the stories that have moved us.”
As part of this project essential works have started in the Museum this month as the first phase of the re-development gets underway. The Museum will remain open to visitors during this time, and every effort will be made to minimise any disruption.
“Driven: Britain’s Motoring Story” will have six distinct areas focusing on how Britain has changed over the decades. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation.
Gail Stewart Bye, Senior Curator of Objects and Exhibitions at the National Motor Museum says, “The stories behind the vehicles are going to be at the forefront of this display; the people who drove the cars, the impact on our lives and landscape and the influence on science, art and design. We’re still going to go under the bonnet to look at nuts and bolts and the huge technological changes to the engines and their capacities that you would normally associate with a motor museum.”