New 100-car museum axed

Great British Car Journey’s closure before April unveiling stuns fans

The much-anticipated Great British Car Journey museum in Ambergate, Derbyshire has been unexpectedly canned. Its planned April opening, which would have seen 100 low-mileage British classics on-site for guests to view and drive, has now been cancelled.

In a surprise statement the museum’s directors said that unforeseen development costs, site flooding and illness had killed any chance of the project continuing as planned, and gave no indication as to whether or not it could be resurrected. That evening, its website and most of its social media pages were deleted, leaving only a message on its Twitter feed.

The announcement prompted anger and confusion from contractors and hopeful staff members, the latter of whom were planning to attend job open days at the museum on 14-15 February. The museum’s PR team confirmed that there would be no refunds for those who had planned to travel down.

The fate of the 100 British classics currently stored on the site, some destined for static display, others for the ‘Drive Dad’s Car’ track experience, remains unclear; co-founder and director Richard Usher was unavailable for comment.

The Car Years’ presenter and TR7 owner Alex Riley was surprised at the museum’s cancellation. ‘It sounded like a great idea and would have represented something genuinely new and interactive in the world of classic cars, as well as a focal point for events and a means of celebrating our motoring heritage. I hope someone can step in and rescue it.’

CCW reported exclusively on the museum and its spin-off, Drive Dad’s Car, on 3 July; it was expected to bring thousands of tourists and enthusiasts into Derbyshire and create a number of local jobs.

Lost potential: directors of the nowcancelled Great British Car Journey say there’s no chance of it happening.