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| Old Motor Club | |
|---|---|
| Name | Old Motor Club |
| Formation | 1920s |
| Type | Automobile club |
| Headquarters | London |
| Region | United Kingdom |
| Membership | Enthusiasts, historians, restorers |
| Leader title | President |
Old Motor Club is a historic British automobile society founded in the early 20th century to promote preservation, appreciation, and study of veteran and vintage motor vehicles. The club has links to major motoring institutions, motor shows, automotive museums, and restoration workshops across Europe and North America. It serves as a node connecting collectors, historians, engineers, curators, and motorsport figures in the preservation movement.
The club traces its origins to interwar enthusiasts active alongside institutions like the Royal Automobile Club, Brooklands Museum, Bentley Drivers Club, Vintage Sports-Car Club, and contemporary societies such as the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain, Automobile Association, and regional bodies in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. Early membership included figures associated with manufacturers like Rolls-Royce Limited, Bentley Motors Limited, Rover Company, Morris Motors Limited, and Austin Motor Company, and engineers whose work featured in publications such as The Autocar and Motor (magazine). During wartime, the club corresponded with agencies including Ministry of Transport (UK), Ministry of Supply (United Kingdom), and organisations involved in postwar heritage like the Imperial War Museum and Science Museum, London.
Membership categories reflect standards used by Royal Automobile Club, Vintage Sports-Car Club, Motor Sport (magazine), and international bodies such as the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile and Society of Automotive Historians. Officers and committees have included individuals affiliated with Goodwood Circuit, Brooklands, Beaulieu National Motor Museum, and academic partners at institutions like University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London. Regional branches coordinate with local clubs such as The Light Car Club, Classic Motor Hub, and municipal collections in Leeds, Bristol, and Southampton.
The club organises rallies, concours, technical seminars, and road runs aligned with events at Goodwood Revival, Silverstone Classic, London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, Le Mans Classic, and smaller gatherings at Cheltenham and York Motor Show. It convenes panels featuring curators from National Motor Museum (Beaulieu), engineers from Jaguar Land Rover, historians from National Archives (UK), and restorers associated with workshops in Coventry and Croydon. Collaborative events have been staged with institutions like Haynes International Motor Museum, Donington Park, National Trust, and the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust.
The club maintains archives comparable in scope to collections at National Motor Museum (Beaulieu), Brooklands Museum, Science Museum, London, Imperial War Museum, and regional archives in Derby and Coventry. Holdings include period catalogues from Daimler Company Limited, Sunbeam Motor Car Company, Alvis Car and Engineering Company, contemporaneous ephemera connected to Bentley Motors Limited, Aston Martin, MG Cars, Singer Motors, and correspondence referencing figures in Henry Royce's and W. O. Bentley's circles. The archive participates in digitisation initiatives with partners such as British Library and National Motor Museum Trust.
The club publishes a quarterly journal, newsletters, technical bulletins, and specialist monographs similar to offerings from Motor Sport (magazine), The Autocar, Vintage Motor Club Journal, and scholarly articles submitted to outlets like the Society of Automotive Historians and university presses at Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Communications include cooperation with broadcasters such as BBC Television, features in The Daily Telegraph, The Times, and contributions to catalogues for auctions run by houses like Bonhams and RM Sotheby's.
Prominent vehicles associated through exhibitions and loans mirror examples preserved by Beaulieu, Brooklands Museum, National Motor Museum (Beaulieu), and private collections of members with ties to Goodwood House and estates linked to aristocratic patrons of motoring like the Duke of Richmond. Important marques represented include Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, MG, Sunbeam, Rover, Morris, Alvis, and Daimler. Membership has encompassed restorers and drivers known in period motoring circles connected to Brooklands, Le Mans 24 Hours, and personalities covered by Autocar and Motor.
The club supports conservation standards in line with practices at National Motor Museum Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund-backed projects, and restoration workshops collaborating with manufacturers such as Bentley, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, and Jaguar Land Rover. It offers guidance referencing archival methods used by British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and preservation case studies concerning veteran vehicles displayed at Beaulieu and Brooklands. Training, apprenticeships, and grants link the club to vocational centres in Coventry, Birmingham, and initiatives funded by bodies like Arts Council England.
Category:Automobile clubs in the United Kingdom