Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
Encyclopedia
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. the attraction is 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 museum opened to the public on 1 May 1989.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
town of Keswick
Keswick, Cumbria
Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, and owned a collection of celebrity television and film vehicles. the attraction is 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..."
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.
The collection
The collection included:- A Ford AngliaFord AngliaThe 1949 model, code E494A, was a makeover of the previous model with a rather more 1940s style front-end, including the sloped, twin-lobed radiator grille. Again it was a very spartan vehicle and in 1948 was Britain's lowest priced four wheel car....
105E, which had been used during the filming of Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls on the school's corridors warn that the "Chamber of... - Both of the two remaining A-Team GMC vans.
- KITTKITTKITT is the short name of two fictional characters from the adventure TV series Knight Rider. While having the same acronym, the KITTs are two different entities: one known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand, which appeared in the original TV series Knight Rider, and the other as the Knight...
(convertible) from Knight Rider. - BatmobileBatmobileThe Batmobile is the automobile of DC Comics superhero Batman. The car has evolved along with the character from comic books to television and films. Kept in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is a gadget-laden vehicle used by Batman in his crime-fighting...
s from the various BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
related films and television series. - A De Lorean DMC-12De Lorean DMC-12The DeLorean DMC-12 is a sports car originally manufactured in Dunmurry, a suburb west of Belfast, Northern Ireland by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company for the American market in 1981-82. Most commonly known as the DeLorean, it was the only model produced by the company which would go into...
promotional replica from the Back to the FutureBack to the FutureBack to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
films. - One of the original two Mr. Bean MkIII Austin Minis. (A replica is also at the National Motor MuseumNational Motor MuseumThe National Motor Museum is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the English county of Hampshire.- History :...
). - Laurel and Hardy'sLaurel and HardyLaurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
Model 'T' Ford. - A comprehensive collection of vehicles from the James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films including at least five Aston MartinAston MartinAston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
s and a variety of other James Bond cars such as the Lotus Esprit, Toyota 2000GTToyota 2000GTThe Toyota 2000GT is a limited-production, front-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat, hardtop coupé grand tourer designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yamaha. First displayed to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965, the 2000GT was manufactured under contract by Yamaha between 1967 and...
, and a BSA motorcycle. - Chitty Chitty Bang BangChitty Chitty Bang Bang (car)Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the vintage racing car which features in the book, musical film and stage production of the same name. Writer Ian Fleming took his inspiration for the car from a series of aero-engined racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s, christened "Chitty Bang...
from the film of the same name. - The Mad MaxMad MaxMad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
film Pursuit SpecialPursuit SpecialThe Pursuit Special is the fictional model of car driven by the officers of the fictional MFP in the Mad Max franchise of films.-Mad Max:...
Ford Falcon XB GT CoupeFord XB FalconThe Ford XB Falcon is a car which was produced by Ford Australia between 1973 and 1976 and was built exclusively in Australia. It bore minor cosmetic differences to the preceding model, the XA, aimed at giving the car a more muscular stance...
. (A replica is also located in Silverton, Australia). - The Munsters' Munster KoachMunster KoachThe Munster Koach was the family car that was used in the television series, The Munsters. The show's producers contracted George Barristo provide the Koach. Barris asked Tom Daniel to design the car, and had it built at Barris Kustoms, First by Tex Smith, but finished by Dick Dean, his shop...
, a hot rodHot rodHot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...
based on a lengthened 1923 Ford Model TFord Model TThe Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...
chassis with a custom hearse body built by famed customizer George BarrisGeorge Barris (auto customizer)George Barris is a designer of custom cars.-Early history:George and his brother Sam were born in Chicago in the 1920s. After the deaths of their parents, they moved to Roseville, California as children to live with relatives. Both were good students, interested in drama, music, and design...
. - A life-sized replica of FAB1FAB1FAB1 is the name given to the pink six-wheeled car in the Thunderbirds franchise.-The original series and films:In the original Supermarionation TV series Thunderbirds , as well as the films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 , FAB1 is a modified Rolls-Royce...
from the supermarionationSupermarionationSupermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
television series ThunderbirdsThunderbirds (TV series)Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
. - The Street HawkStreet HawkStreet Hawk is an American television series that aired for 13 episodes on ABC in 1985. The series was a Limekiln and Templar Production in association with Universal Television. Its central characters were created by Paul M. Belous and Robert "Bob" Wolterstorff, and its core format was developed...
Motorcycle. - The yellow Reliant Regal van used in Only Fools and HorsesOnly Fools and HorsesOnly Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
.