Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
54°36′04″N 3°08′10″W / 54.601°N 3.136°W
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The Cars of the Stars Motor Museum was in the English town of Keswick, Cumbria, and owned a collection of celebrity television and film vehicles. On 8 May 2011, the attraction closed, with a message on the museum website stating "...check the website for details of the relocation of the vehicles to a new location shortly..." The sister site The Bond Museum in Keswick, with its over 30 original screen cars from the James Bond films, also closed at the same time.[1] Briefly afterwards it became known that nearly all of the vehicles had been sold to the American collector Michael Dezer.[2] He relocated the collection to America, where he used it to establish a permanent Cars of the Stars exhibition at his Miami Auto Museum.[3]
History
In 1982 the museum's founder, Peter Nelson, was approached for use of his MG TC in "The Spoils of War" television production. As a result, he formulated the idea of starting a motor museum with a focus on television and film-based vehicles. The Royal Oak Garage in central Keswick was purchased and refurbished to house the collection.
The museum opened to the public on 1 May 1989 and closed in May 2011.[4]
The collection
The collection included:
- A Ford Anglia 105E, which had been used during the filming of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets[5]
- Both of the two remaining A-Team GMC vans
- KITT (convertible) from Knight Rider
- Batmobiles from the various Batman related films and television series[5]
- A De Lorean DMC-12 promotional replica from the Back to the Future films
- One of the original Mr. Bean MkIV Austin Minis. (A replica of this is also at the National Motor Museum)
- Laurel and Hardy's Model 'T' Ford
- A comprehensive collection of vehicles from the James Bond films including at least five Aston Martins and a variety of other James Bond cars such as the Lotus Esprit, Toyota 2000GT, AMC Matador,[6] and a BSA motorcycle
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from the film of the same name[5]
- The Mad Max film Pursuit Special Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe
- The Munsters' Munster Koach, a hot rod based on a lengthened 1923 Ford Model T chassis with a custom hearse body built by famed customizer George Barris
- A life-sized replica of FAB1 from the supermarionation television series Thunderbirds
- The Street Hawk Motorcycle
- The yellow Reliant Regal van used in Only Fools and Horses[5]
- A Triumph Roadster 1800 as used in the detective series Bergerac[5]
- A Herbie Volkswagen Beetle as used in the film series of the same name[5]
References
- ^ "The Bond Museum in Keswick closes its doors, collection moving to Miami". Bond News. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Palm Beach Driving Club Founder Purchases The Cars of the Stars Museum Automobile Collection; Relocates 100 Cars to Miami". Club News. Palm Beach Driving Club. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Hollywood Cars of the Stars at Miami's Auto Museum". web page. Miami's Auto Museum at the Dezer Collection. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Lake District's Bond Museum and Cars of the Stars close". BBC News. BBC. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Davies, Hunter (16 July 2010). "Cars of the Stars, Keswick". Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ eucharisto deo (7 April 2009). "Bond's AMC Matador - the car that flies! Copyright:'The Bond Museum', Keswick. Taken with permission". flickr. Retrieved 26 January 2014.