Jaguar’s famous museum in its home city of Coventry is to undergo a revamp.
The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT), an independent educational charity that holds Jaguar’s collection of historic vehicles, is to change its name to Jaguar Heritage.
Also, 43 cars from the collection are to be offered to other museums or sold at auction.
The name change and sale is part of the restructuring of the famous collection that will see closer links with Jaguar Cars.
The museum, on the site of the company’s old Browns Lane factory, will now open to the public five days a week and on the last Sunday of every month.
Trust chairman and Jaguar Cars managing director Mike O’Driscoll, said the link between the company, the Trust and the activities that it carries out around the world would play an important part in the carmaker’s future.
“When we launched the new XKR and XFR to the media in Europe recently we were supported by cars from the Trust,” Mr O’Driscoll said.
“It is important that we maintain the link to our heritage and the famous vehicles that have gone before like the C-type and D-type. They are not only part of the history but also part of the sporting pedigree that is Jaguar.
“ Jaguar is becoming a sports car company again and we have exciting plans for the future.
“Our links to the past in terms of the 100-plus cars that we will have in the collection and the activities that they will be involved in with new cars around the world will be an important part of our future.”
The day-to-day running of the museum has been taken over by founding trustee Peter Mitchell, who has carried out a review of the collection of vehicles as the first stage of a plan to improve and develop the public display facilities at Browns Lane.
Since the foundation of the JDHT in 1983, the organisation has allowed unrestricted growth of the collection to over 180 vehicles, many of which are duplicated or do not fit in with its collecting policy.
“We are now carrying out a degree of rationalisation and cars that are not required, mostly duplicate vehicles, will be donated, loaned or sold to other museums as laid out by the Museum Libraries and Archives Council (MLA),” said Mr Mitchell.
Bonhams will sell the remainder at its classic car auction at the Silverstone Classic meeting on July 25.
“Money raised from the sale will only be used to buy other vehicles that are more relevant to the museum or go towards the cost of conservation or restoration of vehicles held in the museum,” Mr Mitchell said.
“We want to make the museum an important call for tourists in the British motor heritage trail but ensure that the cars that we maintain will fly the Jaguar flag supporting Jaguar Cars at their launches and events as well as operating at heritage events around the world.”
Details of the cars that will go under the hammer will be announced shortly.
