Collection
Coventry Transport Museum is home to one of the largest collections of road transport in the world – a collection of designated national importance, consisting of 300 cycles, 120 motorcycles and 250 cars and commercial vehicles and over a million archive and ephemera items.
Although we are well-known as a motor museum, we have a significant collection of cycles which ranges from the earliest boneshakers and Penny Farthings to the latest safety cycles, tracing the history of Coventry’s significant contribution to the cycle industry from the early Victorian period to the modern times. Our motorcycle collection ranges from early tri-cycles to the modern Triumph models and also includes bikes from around the world. Our vehicle collection is adorned with the some of the most iconic cars of different times including the 1935 Daimler Limousine (Queen Mary’s Daimler), Triumph Italia 2000, 1975 E-Type Jaguar and the World Land Speed Record Breaker Thrust SSC. We have separate gallery dedicated to commercial vehicles such as the Coventry Corporation buses.
Watch out for these on your way around the Museum:
Oldest item: 1818 Hobby Horse
Strangest item: 1900 ‘Freak’ Cycle
Most significant item: 1888 Rover Safety Cycle
Most controversial item: 1985 Sinclair C5
Slowest vehicle: 1897 Daimler (c. 12mph)
Fastest vehicle: Thrust SSC (c. 763mph in 1997)
Best loved vehicle: 1929 Austin 7 Swallow
Biggest design icon: Mini
Best kept secret: 1962 Triumph Italia 2000 designed by Michelotti
Because the collection is largely Coventry-built, the Museum is a symbol of identity for the City and the region. Many people feel at home among the collection as many of the objects would have been built by them or by members of their family.
Online Images Resource
CTM are proud to lauch a new online facility - www.ctmimages.co.uk
This site demonstrates images from our huge archive, also allowing you to purchase the items as Prints, Canvases or Gifts. The store will continue to grow as we demonstrate the huge array of items from Coventry's long heritage in the transport history.
Storage
Around 60% of the collection is on display in our permanent galleries. We keep changing displays on a regular basis to allow unseen items to be accessible to the public to see and learn about. We have a large off site store where we keep our running and reserve collection. A lot of vehicles, cycles, motorcycles and other large objects are kept in our store. These objects are used for future displays or awaiting restoration/conservation.
We provide access to the store for large groups if requested. We also have two open days per year, which are advertised in the Whats On section of this website.
Contact collection@transport-museum.co.uk with any questions or more information
'Running' Collection
Apart from objects on display at the Museum we also have a ‘running' collection of cycles, motorcycles and vehicles that is used for educational, outreach and promotional activities. These vehicles that are still in an operational condition can be seen at school events, shows and promotional activities.
Collection Management
We still collect actively. Our collection policy focuses on significant material relevant to the City of Coventry, but we also occasionally collect items of national or international importance.
The collection is managed by the Collections/Curatorial Team and looked after by the Collections Care Department, which maintains the running collection, restore damaged objects and conserve original material. The Museum has a Restoration area within the Spirit of Speed gallery where visitors can view restoration projects undertaken. We work closely with other museums to provide the best possible care to our collections and also share our collections care knowledge with private individuals and other heritage groups. The Friends of Coventry Transport Museum assist us with looking the collection and restoration work as well as help us with external promotional events.
For any enquiries about the Museum Collection, email us at collection@transport-museum.co.uk or call 024 7623 4270.