The National Motor Museum Trust

As early as 1818, a French cartoonist produced a drawing of a steam powered velocipede, hotly pursued by three firemen stoking the boiler. In 1869, steam powered bicycles appeared almost simultaneously on opposite sides of the Atlantic. In France, an engineer called Perreaux fitted a steam engine to a bone-shaker from the Michaux factory in Paris whilst in America, Roper fitted a deep boiler between front and rear wheels.

By the 1880s, practical steam tricycles had appeared, but their further development was to be overshadowed by the work of Daimler and Maybach. In 1885, they completed their first prototype engine. They built a wooden-framed motorcycle as the first test bed. Unfortunately, the saddle was too close to the engine and caught fire. But the age of motor cycling had begun.

Motor racing was born very soon after the invention of the car and the first races were held on public roads in France. This became too dangerous as the speeds increased.

The first Grand Prix was staged in 1906 on a circuit near Le Mans, France. In the mid-1920s, power output doubled and speeds of 130mph/209.21kph were not uncommon. Today, Grand Prix racing has become an incredibly expensive sport, but it should not be forgotten that the world's motorsport industry influences much of the technology we see in today's road-going vehicles. Developments in racing engines and engine management, aerodynamics, tyres and braking are all filtered down to allow everyday driving to be a more enjoyable, safer and economic experience.

The men associated with the World Land Speed Record have often become as famous as their machines. The National Motor Museum houses possibly the largest collection of Land Speed Record Breakers in the world. This section tells the story of the development of the cars and the heroic attempts, triumphs and tragedies, in the quest to reach the ultimate goal in automotive technology.

A historic garage has been created within the Museum, complete in detail to the last nut and bolt. Set around 1938, it is not based on any particular garage, although the general ambience reflects that of William Tucker & Son, West End Garage, Wedmore, Somerset. William's son was called Jack, and he himself retired from running the garage in 1985. Whilst the building is a complete fabrication, everything in it, all fixtures, fittings, tools and oil cans are genuine artefacts, a great many of which came from Tucker's.

Another significant contributor was Sibley's Garage in Southampton. Reginald Sibley started his car repair business in 1929, and when in 1994, the family firm closed its doors for the final time, many of the original artefacts including some heavy machinery, were kindly donated to the Museum by Reginald's sons, Norman and Brian. The Museum has been collecting items to create this display for over 50 years and is indebted to the many garages and workshops that helped to make it possible.

A great battle developed around about 1930 to produce the first £100 car. Morris won the race, introducing the Morris Minor in 1931. The car was certainly basic. To meet the magic £100 target it was sold without bumpers and with no brightwork. It had only two seats and a 3 amp lighting set. However, offering an economical 50 miles per gallon, it was Morris's challenge to the Austin 7.

The Minor was an open 2-seater, but in 1935, Ford cut the price of its Model Y saloon (the first all British Ford) to £100, making it the first full-sized saloon to be sold at that price in the UK.

The all-pervading influence of the internal combustion engine in 20th century Britain stretches far beyond the provision of family transport, exotic and sporting machines.

Today, it is instrumental in carrying just about everything we buy, sell, dispose of, or build. The commercial vehicle has provided flexible fast transport for both goods and people as well as providing a series of specialist services. It has also been responsible for the virtual death of the canal system and has inhibited the growth of the railway.

The 1920s saw some of the finest luxury cars ever made, representing perhaps the pinnacle of the coachbuilder's craft. Rolls-Royce led the way with the Phantom I, a replacement for the famous Silver Ghost. Other makers of luxury cars included Mercedes, Daimler and Lanchester whilst in America, Duesenburg, Cadillac and Packard produced fine cars.

This section of the Museum displays a number of cars that demonstrate the elegance and opulence of what, to this day, remains the most expensive sector of motoring.

Following the World War II, motoring finally broke through the class barrier. Since then, the car has become the accepted means of transport for both work and play. The demand for new and improved roads has been constant. Car commuters bring our cities to gridlock and alternative public transport has continued to decline.

Competition for this expanding market has become truly international. In order to survive, manufacturers have merged, or formed working partnerships. Substantial growth in car ownership is firmly predicted and it is only recently that there has been a resurgence in concern over the environmental impact of the family's most expensive technological toy.

Now showing:

A new exhibition in the National Motor Museum for 2010 is ProMotion, showcasing a number of vehicles that illustrate the imaginative and fun techniques companies have used to promote their products over the years. Among the vehicles on display are a Worthington Bottle delivery truck, a Birds Eye Pea and the iconic Cadbury Crème Egg car.

Throughout the Edwardian era, motoring in Britain remained in general the province of the affluent. The cars themselves, however, changed greatly. After a decade of struggle to build cars and another decade of trying to make them work well, the years from about 1906 saw production of reliable and comparatively refined cars. Even the plague of punctures was being overcome by the introduction of the spare wheel and improved tyre design.

Most manufacturers still produced only the chassis. The owner then sent it to the coachbuilder to have a body built to his preferred design. This led to the production of some remarkably elegant vehicles. In the 1920s, fashion, speed and fluidity of line influenced automotive design, yet functional and affordable cars, such as the Bullnose Morris and the little Austin 7, allowed a greater number of people to enjoy the pleasures of open road motoring.

The dream of producing a self-propelled vehicle occupied inventive minds for many centuries. Prototypes were built using a variety of power sources, but all, in the end, proved unreliable or impractical.

It is often said that the Germans invented the car, the French developed it and the British opposed it. It is certainly true to say that the British had very little influence on the first decade or so of the car's development and all the earliest cars in this country were imported.

Today, we expect to climb into a car, start the engine and drive away. For motorists of the Pioneer age, the experience was very different. Every motor journey was an adventure. The driver faced potential problems with his car (almost every motorist in those early days was male), problems with the roads, problems with the weather - and there was very little help available. So the driver had to be well-prepared and, even for a fairly brief journey, this preparation could take several hours.

Take a trip in a space age pod as you experience Wheels, a dark ride through motoring history. Travel through time from the dawn of man and the first stone age wheels to a vision of what the cars of the future may look like.