Donington Grand Prix Collection to Close This November

[apex11]

Gutted, thought Palmer taking over Donington would re invigorate it....

 

[josap11]

This is really sad news, it has been on my list for a while but since I'm Dutch I will not be able to make it there before it closes. Such a shame

 

[Damage Inc]

Such a shame, I've been once and it was amazing. Good collection of military stuff too.

 

[goffred]

This place was well worth the visit (and I live over 10,000 miles away). Just to see the row of McLaren's and the row of Williams' all lined up next to each is worth it alone. There is plenty of other variety as well, even some nice old bikes. Enjoy if you get the chance.

 

[Craig Dunkley]

"shock" and "Horror" ..I have personally been there many many times, this is such sad news. @Paul Jeffrey ..would love to be there one last time, but sadly my body does not allow me to travel anymore, I hope you have a great time and take many pictures.

 

[David Wright]

I've been about five or six times over the years. It was a great source of information for the GPL mods such as the 65 mod and the 69 mod. It was always quiet mid week even 10 or more years ago. There was a restaurant and a shop too.

Much as I love driving them in sims, there is no substitute for seeing these cars in the flesh. The 1.5 litre F1 cars of the early/mid 60s are tiny little jewels for example. The 2.5 litre F1 cars just a few years older such as the Vanwall are really huge by comparison.

I must make one last visit before it closes.

 

[Andrew Harper]

Maybe Brooklands will take on some of the cars, that's another great place to visit, if only to climb the crazy banking

You beat me to it, I've been there a few times with the RX7 on owners days and it's a great museum to visit. Lots of planes and racing cars and like you say you can walk the banking section as well. Great for little children and big kids like me, lol.

You also have the Mercedes world over the other side which is also worth a visit.

For some reason I never visited the Donington Museum, whenever I went there to see races the days were usually so full I never found the time.

Will be a shame to lose it, I hope they find new places to store all the cars there.

With regards to making them "runners". That's a tough one. Not so much now but a lot of the cars would require complete ground up restoration and that would be in the tens of thousands (probably much much more....didn't Ross Brawn spend a million pounds getting his car running again?) Some cars will be engineless as that would have been the deal with the supplier at the time (once the season finishes the engines are returned for analysis, secrecy).

There's also the issue of (and I'll say this quietly) there is a high probability that some of the cars are simply display models. I've seen them in museums before (quite major ones too) and I assume that Donington will be no different in some cases.

Having thought of it, why don't they get talking with Silverstone and their new museum plans? Still a few years away yet but they should have a few parking places for them, hopefully!

 

[wombat999]

IIRC some cars are on loan so I hope will be off the 'Sale' list and certain cars are of dubious originality.
I'd hope that the genuine and historically important exhibits might be added to existing museum collections.

 

[michelforest]

Yes it is sad. A growing trend as well unfortunately. Even the car clubs are diminishing in numbers we've noticed over the last few years.

The conversations always end up with lack of money and time being mentioned...Yet the economies are growing according to the politicians? Don't think so.

The economy *is* growing, but it's all going in the pockets of a very small number of people...

 

[Ricoow]

A very short term meetup in Donington it is @Paul Jeffrey @Paul Glover @Daiman Patel

 

[Paul Glover]

A very short term meetup in Donington it is @Paul Jeffrey @Paul Glover @Daiman Patel

It's a good two hours away for me!

 

[Ricoow]

It's a good two hours away for me!

Wish I could say the same, its 9 hours for me including a ferry

 

[Daiman Patel]

A very short term meetup in Donington it is @Paul Jeffrey @Paul Glover @Daiman Patel

Count me in... I'm only 15 minutes away!

 

[felan]

Luckily I've been there in 2000 while visiting the Coys Festival @ Silverstone...we felt like in heaven seeing the 60s F1-cars (GPL-guys-meeting @ Coys with guys from Sweden, Scotland, Netherland and Germany)

 

[Glaurung]

The owner has done some basic maths realising that selling one piece at time to a bunch of rich collectors would give such a huge profit that would never been achieved running the museum.
It's a loss, yes those jewels will be preserved, but only in some hidden exotic garages, impossible to admire for common people.

 

[Jurld]

It pains me that I will never get to see this place.

If you're in the USA there is a great museum at Barber Motorsports Park just outside Birmingham, Alabama. It's mostly bikes, but it also has a large collection of vintage Lotus race cars.

Seeing cars up close really helps me make a connection with what I am driving in these sims: Somebody sat in THAT and really went 200 mph? WOW!

 

[JayMc73]

I had planned on going to an event there next year and take a look at the museum while I was there. But seeing this news and the fact that I happen to be working in Telford for the next month I might have to take a day off work to take a look as it’s about an hour away.

 

[Toonces]

Tom Wheatcroft's son Kevin (now in his 50s) seems more interested in Nazi memorabilia than his father's fabulous collection of vintage sporting machinery. What is it with car guys and detritus of the Third Reich? I speak here not only of the FIA's Max Mosely, but also the Imperial Palace's Ralph Engelstad in Las Vegas, whose vast car collection (now scattered to the wind) included a private Wehrmacht section stocked with such gems as Hitler's very own Mercedes G4 complete with period-correct mannequins, appropriately posed and attired.

 

[Durge Driven]

It is an eyesore...but simultaneously very British looking, at least to this Yank's eyes.

Seriously, if you had shown me that picture and asked me to speculate on what might be in it, I would have said "I dunno, maybe, like, a bunch of old British sports and race cars?"

I bet it smells like a delicious combination of dampness, dust, and motor oil.

I can see that view

The building looks typical WWII, a lot of similar designs in Australia

Thing is with the price of collections now they need to be kept in the best environment possible

I would try and bring some of the best features of other great car museums, really like Mercedes

One thing collections need is space so all cars can be viewed from all angles, then you can get best appreciation, best photos......... much like car shows

One idea would be the best of each collection to be enclosed in vacuum sealed capsules of a high tech clear material, not your typical rectangle but curved and domed so there is no frame to spoil photos

You could have them on various multi-storey stands like they use for car parks
they could span all floors around staircases
Have them revolve up and down, stop, do a slow 360, then next car

Maybe pump a synthetic mixture of damp, dust and oil through ventilation into appropriate displays and some AvGas for Historic Formula display lol


Few silly ideas anyways p

 

[Stuart Gillard]

Well considering this is only around 50 miles from my home I'll be taking a visit there before it closes in the next week or two all being well.