Best car museum / collection in the SE?

[vrsmxtb]

I'm off work this week and fancy a run out somewhere. Any ideas on the best car-related attractions in the south-east - is Beaulieu Motor Musuem still the best bet? Never been...

[mgroadster]

Never been to Beaulieu? GO GO GO!!! You'll love it.

[vrsmxtb]

mgroadster said:

Never been to Beaulieu? GO GO GO!!! You'll love it.

The Top Gear exhibition sounds quite fun too. Any fun roads on the way down, coming from NW Kent?

[Riley Blue]

Brooklands.

[Sir Bagalot]

I wouldn't say Beaulieu was worth a visit from NW Kent.

Brooklands, and treat yourself to a 1 Hour AMG experience

[Rob Crutch]

Haynes museum in Yeovil is more West Country than South East but has a good collection nonetheless.

http://www.haynesmotormuseum.com/

[chevronb37]

Brooklands and Beaulieu combined is a good day trip. Both amazing places.

[Cockey]

I know this sounds stupid, but I found Beaulieu to have too many cars. I'm a huge petrol head but I found myself getting bored after a while!

[prand]

Cockey said:

I know this sounds stupid, but I found Beaulieu to have too many cars. I'm a huge petrol head but I found myself getting bored after a while!

I agree a little with you - I find the collection to be a bit old too - but then I haven't been for a few years beyond a Ford day recently. Some gems through the ages of cars and racing though.

My favourite exhibit is a 1980's F1 engine. 1.5 litre v6 Cosworth. Turbo bigger than the block. 1200 bhp!!!

And Beaulieu has a monorail! The 80's answer to our future transport needs. So We have Beaulieu, GAtwick and the DLR. Why doesn't everywhere have a monorail?!

Brooklands museum is a good smaller collection iof old cars (some more recent F1), bikes and old aricraft, the buildings are good to walk round too, really atmospheric. Tripping over the nosecone to the TSR2 still makes me angry to this day, but you can sit in a harrier and have a look round an old Concorde. If you#re lucky you can sneak upstairs and check out Barnes Wallis's old office.

Migth be best to go to these for a special event day - like the Autojumble or Italian car special.

[CptDangerous]

As suggested, Brooklands is next to Mercedes Benz world and both can be done easily together on a day out. If you're looking for an excuse to travel pick a Grand-Prix Sunday. MB World show the races on a big screen and usually do AMG passenger rides for a discounted £15. I've been a couple of times and the atmosphere wasn't too bad for the race, and the ride I had in an E63 AMG was a hoot.

http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking...

You can do Brooklands before or after the race, and I think there's a picnic area as well for those who are too tight to spend money on canteen food.

Edited by CptDangerous on Tuesday 19th July 13:52

[ARH]

http://www.dovertransportmuseum.org.uk/

It is only open on certain days but well worth a vist. when I went myself and the other half were the only visitors. we got a personal guide.

[Blib]

Plus, at Brooklands, you get to go on Concorde. Just sitting in it sent shivers up my spine. I swear it was straining to take off.

[petej]

A few smaller attractions...

http://www.bentley.org.uk/#/motor-museum-gallery/4...

http://www.ukattraction.com/south-east-england/c-m...

[Legacywr]

Cockey said:

I know this sounds stupid, but I found Beaulieu to have too many cars. I'm a huge petrol head but I found myself getting bored after a while!

I'm not a big fan either!

A good day out I once had was going to the Haynes museum, and then traveling 10 miles down the road to the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton!

[Jimmyarm]

Legacywr said:

I'm not a big fan either!

A good day out I once had was going to the Haynes museum, and then traveling 10 miles down the road to the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton!

+1

I don't really get on with Beaulieau, you can't get close to any of the exotica and it costs a ridiculous amount for what you get.

[Pothole]

prand said:

And Beaulieu has a monorail! The 80's answer to our future transport needs. So We have Beaulieu, GAtwick and the DLR. Why doesn't everywhere have a monorail?!

DLR is, as its name suggests, not a monorail.

[ROOODBOY]

Another option, especially if the weather is reasonable, is to take a wander round central London, should see many exotics on the roads this time of year, and there are some showrooms worth seeing - with a bit of tube train hopping in between.