Classic Jag collection now open to public

Jul 21 2009 Edward Stephens

Classic Jag collection now open to public

MORE than £25 million worth of cars now grace Jaguar's Heritage Collection - and for the first time ever the museum will be open to the public.

In the past some visitors have been allowed in but because the collection was housed in the middle of Jaguar's Browns Lane former factory in Coventry the numbers attending have been small and strictly governed.

Now the factory has been demolished, however, and a new entrance from Browns Lane has been opened to give easy access for all.

The collection has been a major attraction for Jaguar enthusiasts from all over the world and the re-opening - access has been restricted during the three years of demolition work - is expected to make it a magnet to more and more local visitors.

The museum collection consist of 118 cars with some 25 on show at any given time. The rest are stored in a top secret location in the Midlands and rotated every few weeks.

Cars include a D-Type Jaguar worth a cool £3 million and a C-Type valued at £2 million.

Peter Mitchell, the founder of the collection, said they also had 44 cars which were 'duplicates' or not so important and these would be sold to make way for more special models.

'I have a wish list which includes a lightweight E-Type and a Jaguar XK SS, which would complete the collection nicely,' he said.

A charge of £5 has now been introduced for adults but each additional adult pays just £1.