Prodrive’s Cool Collection of Cars

Tuesday, 01 November 2011 10:00

A few months ago I was introduced to one of British Motorsport’s hidden treasures, the Prodrive Heritage Centre.

Located in Oxfordshire’s Banbury, which is also home to a number of race teams competing in different series across the world, the Centre houses a collection of historic race, rally and road cars.

I might have described it as hidden but that has more to do with the unassuming building in the middle of an industrial estate in which it is housed. The Heritage Centre is no secret, with full details on the Prodrive website and no appointment necessary. In fact you don’t even need to buy a ticket to enter; all that is requested is a gold coin donation to support the Company’s chosen charity, the Horton Hospital.

One of Prodrive’s specialist fields is the design and construction of race cars for companies and teams and a number of these cars are featured in the Centre. Cars on display include the following:
- 1984 Porsche 911 SCRS – Group B rally car;
- 1986 MG Metro 6R4 – Group B rally car;
- 1990 BMW M3 – Group A rally car;
- 1992 Subaru Legacy RS – Group A rally car;
- 1996 Subaru Impreza 555 – Group A rally car driven by Colin McRae;
- 1998 Honda Accord Super Touring Car – BTCC car;
- 2000 Ford Mondeo Super Touring Car – BTCC winning car;
- 2000 Subaru Impreza WRC – Burns’ safari winning car;
- 2000 Subaru Impreza P1 – road car;
- 2003 Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello – Le Mans winning car;
- 2004 BAR F1 car – driven by Jenson Button;
- 2006 Prodrive P2 – road car; and
- 2008 Aston Martin DBR9.

It’s enough to make a motorsport fan’s jaw drop. Unlike other museums there are no security guards pacing the premises and the cars aren’t even roped off. This means that you can look inside their cockpits and even pose for a photo with your favourite cars. The Centre’s walls are lined with the faces of drivers from around the world who have been behind the wheel of these and other Prodrive cars at some point of their racing career.

The Heritage Centre is located within Prodrive’s Banbury premises (OX16 3ER), though just last month the Company announced that they would be moving to larger premises which will likely see this address change in the future. If you do want to visit you are advised to ring in advance as it is sometimes closed to the public.

By Chelsea Woods

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Comments (1)

|2011-11-01 18:00:52 Abigail - Awesome collection!

Being over in the US, I would give just about anything to drive even one of those cars! Thanks so much for writing this.
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|2011-11-04 16:07:11 Chelsea - Thanks

I'm glad you enjoyed the article Abigail! If you ever are visiting the UK it's definitely worth the visit if you've got time.
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