Classic shrine: Isle of Man Motor Museum

By Richard Heseltine

| 31 Mar 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Classic shrine: Isle of Man Motor Museum

If there is a theme, it’s that there is no theme: nothing can prepare you for the scale and scope of the Isle of Man Motor Museum.

It’s a collection like no other, home to everything from veteran electric cars to military vehicles, from extravagant hearses to racing motorcycles, via all manner of contraptions that defy easy categorisation.

It is also a shrine to Americana, with a raft of classic cars on display that you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else, even in their homeland.

This Cadillac Fleetwood hearse is one of the many obscure vehicles in the Isle of Man Motor Museum

The purpose-built facility that accommodates this leftfield cache is vast and airy, and the winning part is that you can get right up close to the exhibits. You will want to.

The funny thing is, the collection in its original form was based in London.

Darren Cunningham, who inherited the bug from his father Denis, dreamed up the museum in order to see the entire family hoard accommodated under one roof.

“Dad started out buying cars in the 1980s,” he explains, “and the nucleus of the collection was his Jaguar XJ12 Coupé, a Rolls-Royce Corniche II and Camargue, plus various Humbers and a 1925 Cubitt.”

Clockwise from top: Darren (on left) and dad Denis Cunningham with the collection that outgrew its London home; 1970 American LaFrance, complete with sunfade; 1962 Nobel 200 microcar (on right)

“It grew from there,” he continues. “We had an eight-car garage and lock-ups scattered all over the place, and that no longer cut it – especially when we got into American vehicles.

“The first US purchase was a 1959 Cadillac ambulance.”

Hence the decision to establish a permanent home for the collection, which, within a few decades, comprised around 130 vehicles.

“It wasn’t all cars, either,” Darren adds. “There were lorries and buses, too.”

The 1960 Dodge Polara (left) was the collection’s first US road car

“Having them all over the place wasn’t ideal,” he says. “Dad and I began looking for a suitable location, and we fell in love with the Isle of Man.

“That was in late 2013. We set about building the museum a year later and it opened in May 2015.

“Of course, we didn’t stop collecting during that time, and since then we have built up relationships with the local enthusiasts and collectors. They have been extremely supportive.”

The remarkable 1954 GM PD-4501 Scenicruiser that Darren drove to Blytheville in Arkansas, USA

What strikes you on entering the 75,000sq ft site is how the exhibits are juxtaposed; how, say, a 28-cylinder, 71.5-litre Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major cutaway engine seems a natural fit alongside a Dodge Viper.

Oh, and not forgetting the Routemaster bus that Darren and friends drove 8000 miles across 27 states during an American road trip in 2010.

“We also had a Fairway Driver taxi [black cab] with us. We did a further 5000 miles in that,” he adds nonchalantly, before adding that he acquired the nearby 1954 GM PD-4501 Scenicruiser in 2013 and immediately drove it around 1000 miles to the Ghosts of Highway 61 historic coach event in Blytheville, Arkansas.

Clockwise from top: a 1992 Dodge Viper looms over a Suzuki Cappuccino; vast 1929 American LaFrance Type 147 Service Car; more Americana, with a 1962 Ford Thunderbird

One of the few cars that is in the realm of the normal is on display near the entrance.

It’s a Mini City, acquired new by Isle of Man TT legend Joey Dunlop.

“He taught his children to drive in it and the car remains in the family,” Darren adds, before we move on to a marque that is inextricably linked with the island.

The museum has an array of Peel products, the most recent of which is a different kind of Mini: “Peel Engineering produced some moulds for a glassfibre bodyshell for BMC during the 1960s, and they were further refined in Cowley.

“We recently purchased the original moulds, and have one of the completed prototype cars as well as a bodyshell it manufactured.”

Clockwise from top: 1967 Commer Transporter; Rolls-Royce Corniche II; Peugeot 205 GTI and Ford Escort RS Turbo

The Peel set also comprises the obligatory P50 and Trident microcars, as well as a Mini-based Viking kit, a P1000 sports car from the British Specials era, a monorail, motorcycle fairings and even some glassfibre aftermarket accessories for the Renault Dauphine.

Moving further in, there’s an array of Mopar products, with standouts including a 1957 Imperial Southampton Coupe and the crisply styled 1967 Imperial Crown Coupe with Mobile Director package.

Then there are the various Lincolns, including a Brunn-bodied 1941 example with Sedanca-style body, a ’55 Continental Mark II and the ’65 Continental Executive Limousine that was built by Lehmann-Peterson for former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

The cutaway Sunbeam-Talbot 90 from the 1948 British Motor Show, now on display at the Isle of Man Motor Museum

The selection of ‘professional cars’ holds a particular fascination for Darren.

“I suppose some people may find it morbid, but I think ambulances, hearses and flower cars are worth saving – worth celebrating – because they were among the last truly coachbuilt American cars,” he muses.

“They were supplied as bare chassis with only the front-end bodywork in place.

“There would be a few bits, like the rear bumper, tail-lights and minor items of trim for that particular model year, but otherwise it was up to the coachbuilder to make something special, sometimes as one-offs in the case of hearses and flower cars.

“Our ’59 Lincoln flower car by National Body was truly one of a kind.”

This 1965 Amphicar Model 770 suits the Isle of Man’s location

Warming to the theme, he adds: “By their very nature, these cars spent their lives getting wet, with water from flowers constantly dripping everywhere, which didn’t do much for their longevity.

“As such, there were three ways they could go: they could rust out and be scrapped, or they might get turned into pick-ups; if they were lucky, they would be restored.”

And with that, we are whisked away to take in some airport shuttles – what else? – including a 28ft-long, Oldsmobile Toronado-based 1968 AQC Jetway 707, plus a bizarre eight-wheel-steered 1953 Willys, complete with a 327cu in Chevy V8 in its rump.

It was built by Dick Cook, a collaborator with – and foil to – custom car culture guru Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth.

This 1964 Humber Super Snipe Series III came from Australia

Rootes products hold a particular fascination for Denis, and the museum houses several small-series or one-off Humbers in particular.

A Humber Super Snipe Drophead Tourer built for – and used by – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their 1953-’54 Royal Tour of the Commonwealth is among the standouts.

“I moved to London in the early 1970s and needed to earn some extra money, so decided to be a minicab driver in the evenings,” recalls Denis.

“My future brother-in-law had a Super Snipe for sale for £60. I could only afford half up front and promised him the balance as soon as I could.

“That same evening I started working on Holloway Road and I earned enough to pay him the remaining £30 the following day. I’ve always had at least one Humber since then.”

Clockwise from top: this Morris Mini Cooper has extensive Isle of Man rally history; a 1982 De Lorean and 1981 Lagonda; turbocharged 1990 Autech-Nissan Zagato Stelvio

Elsewhere, the wealth of exotica includes a smattering of Ferraris, if not necessarily the models you might expect to find in a museum.

And then there’s an assortment of Facel Vegas that are variously complete, partially restored or in the throes of decomposition, which makes for an arresting sight.

And let’s not forget the trio of Monicas, Jean Tastevin’s ill-starred supersaloon, plus assorted Ted Martin V8s that were initially to have been fitted.

“We have had car number one running,” Darren says. “It was a fascinating project; we also have prototypes two and six.”

Clockwise from top: a stacked sandwich of Fiat Samanthas in varying states of decay; this 1952 Humber pick-up was built for Saudi oil fields; this one-of-six Tissier Citroën DS transporter has a rotary engine

Throw in an Intermeccanica-built Murena 429GT, a Zagato-styled Autech Stelvio and some designer Fiats (2300, 130 and Samantha coupés) for high glamour.

Next, we are ushered towards an assortment of fire engines, a Gibbs Aquada amphibious car, some ex-Soviet spacecraft (of course), a self-propelled gun, a South African-made GSM Flamingo, some Japanese kei cars, a pair of rotary-engined Citroëns, a restored charabanc, a 1936 Daimler Double-Six ‘invalid limousine’ by Lancefield Coachworks – which is believed to have been built for the ailing King George V – and… well, you get the idea.

The Isle of Man Motor Museum is unlike anything you can imagine, and we haven’t even touched upon the many two-wheelers that play such an important role in the island’s history.

A Bond Bug 700ES among the Isle of Man Motor Museum’s weird and wonderful exhibits

The beauty here is that there is such a rich abundance of vehicles to take in, and you are guaranteed to find something of interest even if you are not biologically hard-wired towards the esoteric.

If you are that way inclined, though, heaven awaits.

“I suppose our tastes are for the unusual, and I like to think that is what makes the museum so interesting,” Darren explains by way of a parting shot.

“You’ll see things here that you will not encounter anywhere else, and we rotate exhibits to keep things fresh.

“Visit several times and you will find something new each time.”

Just make sure that you set aside more than a few hours when visiting.

You could easily lose days wandering between 550 vehicles, so an afternoon will be insufficient.

Images: Richard Dredge