‘Feats of Endurance’ exhibition at the National Motor Museum

Visitors to the National Motor Museum can now see its latest exhibition, Feats of Endurance, featuring vehicles that have stretched the boundaries of motoring endurance both in extreme conditions and on challenging terrain.

Throughout history mankind has felt the need to explore and discover.  With the invention of mechanised road transport, new challenges became possible and motorists and motorcyclists were soon pushing both themselves and their machines to perform new feats of endurance. Long journeys have tested drivers and machines from the earliest days of motoring, one of the earliest being the 1907, 9,000 mile, Peking to Paris Rally.

Adventures have often taken vehicles where few thought it possible; penetrating the jungles of Asia and the rain forests of South America, enduring the frozen expanses of the Arctic and the vast arid deserts of Africa, Asia, Australia and South America. Many adventurous journeys have also been undertaken on bicycles with continents crossed and mountains climbed.

Some gain satisfaction from completing a challenge simply because it is there; crossing a desert or traversing a continent.  The desire to win is the driving force of those who compete in long distance rallying while, for others, motoring expeditions can be used to promote a cause, highlight an issue or test new technology.

The vehicles on display in the exhibition illustrate all these motivations, from the   Austin Westminster that completed a 17,500 mile drive from Norway’s North Cape to Cape Town, South Africa in 1955, to the British team driven Land Rover 110 Turbo Diesel that won the Camel Trophy in 1989 and the 1978 Mini 1275GT and trailer that has twice driven round the world for charity.

Many two wheeled vehicles have also successfully travelled around the world including a Triumph Tiger 100 that in 1973 was taken on a 63,400 mile epic adventure round the world, a Guinness World Record Breaking BMW R1150GS Adventure and a Koga Miyata Signature bicycle that was ridden on an 18,296 mile journey through 20 countries.

The exhibition runs until the end of October 2011 and can be seen as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction which is open every day from 10am.  For more information, visit beaulieu.co.uk.