COVENTRY TRANSPORT MUSEUM

Coventry's Transport Museum is Britain's biggest collection of historic cars, bikes and cycles. And you don't need to be an enthusiast to enjoy a visit. Jonathan Crouch went along for a look

If Britain is the home of the motorcar, then Coventry's Transport Museum is without doubt the home of British motoring history. If you thought that title rested with London's Science Museum or Lord Montague's collection in Beaulieu, then think again. It's in Coventry that you'll find the largest collection of British road transport in the world. And it's free to visit.

In fact, even motoring enthusiasts are usually shocked by the sheer scale of this museum. It includes over 240 cars, commercial vehicles and buses, 94 motorcycles, over 200 bicycles, 25,000 models and around a million archive and ephemera items. Amongst this lot, there's a huge variety in the exhibits. The oldest item is a Hobby Horse dating back to 1818, whilst the newest is the 2001 bike used by Steve Knight, the British Mountain Bike Champion.



The slowest vehicle is an 1897 Daimler (capable over just 12mph) while the fastest is Richard Noble's famous ThrustSSC (which managed 763mph in its pursuit of the World Land Speed Record in 1997). Every exhibit has some connection to the City of Coventry - though since the City is well established as the cradle of the British Motor Industry, that remit covers almost every vehicle you might care to name.



In its time, Coventry has had 271 cycle makers, 111 motorcycle makers and 136 car and commercial vehicle builders, coachmakers and component manufacturers. As far as car makers are concerned, just two remain in the City - Jaguar and LTI (who manufacture the famous London Taxi). Under the surface how...