The National Motor Museum’s thought-provoking exhibition looking at future visions of motoring from the past opened over the weekend. Motopia? Past Future Visions showcases a journey through 130 years of future thinking about automobility.
The exhibition will run until the 14 April 2024 at the museum located at Beaulieu in the New Forest, Hampshire.
Invited guests were given a preview of the exhibition on Friday. At the event, Ben Taylor of exhibition sponsors Select Car Leasing spoke of their pride at being associated with the exhibition at a time when vehicle leasing industry is currently undergoing a radical transition into electric mobility. Lord Montagu of Beaulieu described how his grandfather, John, Lord Montagu, was a visionary and predicted many of the developments of motoring and society change as a result, and Ben Swann, the National Motor Museum’s Head of Learning, described how the idea for the exhibition emerged from an ambition to explore and interpret how radical motoring concepts from the past, that remain relevant today, have influenced today what we ride and drive, the nature of our towns and cities, the way we work, shop and socialise.
Concept cars, visions of the future from the start of the 20th century and previous ideas on how we travel and power our vehicles are on display, with visitors encouraged to consider future ideas for an ideal way of living and getting about.
The exhibition will have four key themes; vehicle visions will look at car design concepts, propulsion asking how our vehicles are powered – particularly timely when there is a resurgence of electric vehicles, architectural dreams which will include science fiction visions, and urban solutions showing how vehicles have constantly been re-imagined to suit our needs and surroundings.
A pop-up family event, ‘Motopia? Are we nearly there yet’ will be at the museum during the half-term holiday, from the 29 May to the 2 June, with activities and demonstrations related to the future of motoring.
Motopia? Past Future Visions is included in an admission ticket to the Beaulieu attraction.
