Cars of the Stars Motor Museum facts for kids

Cars of the Stars Motor Museum Logo

The Cars of the Stars Motor Museum was a special place in Keswick, Cumbria, a town in England. It had an amazing collection of cars that were famous from TV shows and movies! The museum first opened its doors in 1989. It closed in 2011. There was also a museum next door called The Bond Museum. It had more than 30 original cars from the James Bond films. It closed at the same time.

Most of these awesome cars were bought by an American collector named Michael Dezer. He moved the whole collection to America. There, he created a permanent "Cars of the Stars" exhibit at his Miami Auto Museum.

The Cars of the Stars Motor Museum

How Did It Start?

The idea for the museum came from Peter Nelson, who founded it. In 1982, a TV show called "The Spoils of War" wanted to use his MG TC car. This gave Peter the idea to start a museum. He wanted to show off cars that were famous from TV and movies.

He bought and fixed up the Royal Oak Garage in the middle of Keswick. This building became the home for his cool car collection. The museum opened to visitors on May 1, 1989. It closed its doors in May 2011. After it closed, the museum's collection was moved to the United States.

Amazing Cars You Could See

The museum had many famous vehicles. Imagine seeing cars you've only seen on screen! Here are some of the cool cars that were part of the collection:

Famous Movie Cars

• A Ford Anglia 105E, which was used in the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
• A special DMC DeLorean car, like the one from the Back to the Future films.
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from the movie of the same name.
• A Herbie Volkswagen Beetle from the film series.
• The Pursuit Special Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe from the Mad Max film.
• Different Batmobiles from the Batman movies and TV shows.
• A huge collection of cars from the James Bond films. This included at least five Aston Martins. There were also other Bond cars like the Lotus Esprit, Toyota 2000GT, AMC Matador, and a BSA motorcycle.

TV Show Favorites

• Both of the two remaining A-Team GMC vans.
• KITT (a convertible version) from the TV show Knight Rider.
• One of the original Mr. Bean MkIV Austin Minis.
• The Munsters' Munster Koach. This was a special car built by George Barris. It was based on a 1923 Ford Model T chassis.
• A life-sized copy of FAB1 from the Thunderbirds TV series.
• The Street Hawk Motorcycle.
• The yellow Reliant Regal van used in Only Fools and Horses.
• A Triumph Roadster 1800, like the one in the detective series Bergerac.

Other Cool Cars

• Laurel and Hardy's Model 'T' Ford.