This section sets out the integral nature of the Mullin Automotive Museum and Museum Club

The Mullin Automotive Museum

Visitors to the Mullin Automotive Museum will find themselves immersed in one of the world’s greatest collections of iconic classic cars and an unrivalled archive of 20th-century automotive memorabilia. The museum will present a unique opportunity to enjoy and celebrate the brilliance of the motorcar in its golden era. All of the vehicles in the collection and on display in the Museum, Vaults and the Exhibition Building will be available to experience both close up, in the workshop and in motion, as they are driven around the purpose-designed exercise track.

On display in the central Mullin Museum Building will be up to thirty cars drawn from the personal collection of businessman and philanthropist Peter W. Mullin, which comprises several hundred of the most beautiful classic cars in the world, and includes the most comprehensive selection of early 20th-century Bugattis.

Computer generated image of the Mullin Museum Exhibition Building

All visitors to the Mullin Museum will also have the opportunity to visit the Vaults beneath the Mullin Crescent Building where they will be able to view and appreciate a unique assembly of classic cars belonging to the owners of the Mullin Residences and members of the Mullin Museum Club. The vast archive of automotive memorabilia from the Mullin Collection will be stored and displayed in the Crescent Building, where visitors will also find a café and museum shop.

The iconic Mullin Exhibition Building, located just a short distance from the Museum Building, will provide an opportunity to explore the past, present and future of automotive design and engineering. Home to a rotating programme of carefully curated exhibitions, selected around a special theme or a particular marque, each on display for only a limited period of 12-24 months, the Mullin Exhibition Building will bring together the greatest and most beautiful cars borrowed from private and corporate collections around the world. Visitors will be invited to wander through halls, explore the remarkable stories behind the design, evolution and legacy of the vehicles, and to marvel at the genius of their creators. Visitors will be encouraged to deepen their understanding and appreciation of automotive design and engineering through interactive learning, driving simulators and a rolling programme of films and presentations in the Mullin Theatre. The landmark Mullin Exhibition Building will also include a café and gift shop for refreshments and souvenirs.

Computer generated image of The Mullin Museum Crescent (inner) and Exercise Track

Both the Mullin Museum Building and The Mullin Exhibition Building will have exceptional views of the purpose-designed exercise track where visitors will be able to experience the grace and beauty of the cars in motion. Visitors will also be free to walk alongside the track, explore the thoughtfully landscaped parkland setting and visit the workshops where they can watch the museum’s team of specialist engineers at work.

The Mullin Automotive Museum will be a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society at large. Its mission is to conserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage of the automotive industry. The museum fosters learning and education for all ages to broaden the understanding and appreciation of both the history and future of automotive design and engineering.

The Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxfordshire has a sister museum in Oxnard, California, which opened in 2010. Through a programme of interchange, both sites will have opportunity to present the full depth of the Mullin Collection.

  • The Mullin Automotive Museum will be open to the public six days a week from 10am-5pm (last entry 4pm) and will be accessible and inclusive. Access is by pre-booked ticket only. To manage traffic flow, entry times are spread across the day in 20 minute slots. To promote sustainable transport, discounted entry is available for visitors using the free shuttle bus from local transport hubs such as Oxford Parkway, or travelling via electric car (25% of all parking spaces will have EV charging points). To encourage car sharing, an additional charge will be made for a space in the visitor car park. Discounted tickets will be available for under 16s, over 65s and special concessions. A season ticket will be available for members of the local community. The Mullin Automotive Museum Community Forum, comprised of representatives from local Parish Councils, key stakeholders and the museum’s operations team, will continue to work together to build ties between the Museum and the local community. This includes a commitment to educational visits for schools and youth groups in the area, apprenticeship schemes for locals of all ages, and a community outreach programme to support local charities and good causes. The Mullin Automotive Museum follows the latest principles of sustainable design and construction. All space heating will be powered by renewable technology running on green electricity, including micro generation on site. The use of sustainable bio and synthetic fuels to replace petrol will be promoted for all track use. The transformation of the site – a former WWII airbase most recently used as a motorsports centre with race, rally, go-cart and off-road tracks – into a beautifully landscape parkland setting, will see the creation of new habitats including lakes, ponds, woodlands and wildflower meadows, attracting a wealth of bio-diversity.

The Mullin Museum Club

The Mullin Museum Club will be a membership club for friends and benefactors of the museum and provides a meeting place for classic car owners, collectors, enthusiasts and others with a connection to the classic car community.

The Mullin Museum Club’s core purpose will be to provide financial support, patronage and governance for the museum, which is a not-for-profit entity. Membership fees and revenue from the Mullin Museum Club will make a significant contribution towards the maintenance and operation of the public museum as well as funding a bursary to support training and apprenticeship opportunities for local people. The Museum Club is also expected to be a principal source of exhibits on loan to the museum for public display and appreciation.

The Mullin Museum Club member facilities (comprising 7.5% of the total project floor area) includes club lounge and terrace space, dining and 40 rooms available for members travelling away from home to make overnight stays. Membership includes access to the Mullin Automotive Museum, Mullin Exhibition Building, Workshops and the Wellness Facilities (primarily used by the owners of The Mullin Residences) together with a maximum of three guests. Members who are classic car owners or collectors will also be able to store and display their vehicles at the Mullin Automotive Museum and have them maintained, serviced and exercised by the team of specialist engineers.

  • Attendance of the Mullin Museum Club is anticipated to fall largely outside of the operating hours of the public museum and as such is a complementary use of the site. The Mullin Museum Club will open daily from 7.00am until midnight. On weekdays, the majority of visits are anticipated to fall between 6.30pm and 10.30pm, and therefore outside of both the working day, and the operating hours of the public museum. Over the weekend, visits to the club are expected to peak at lunchtime between 12pm and 3pm, and in the evenings between 6.30pm and 9.30pm, after the public museum has closed.

  • Anyone can apply to be a member of The Mullin Museum Club but acceptance will be decided by a founders’ committee who meet once every quarter. The membership will attract classic car owners and collectors, enthusiasts and others with a connection to the automotive world who share in the Museum’s objectives set out on page 1. The club will provide a network for like-minded people from the classic car world and wider automotive community who will be able to enjoy a relaxed and comfortable space in which to collaborate, socialise and share their interests, including furthering the stated aims of the Museum’s creation. Representatives from amongst the Founder Members of the Museum Club will serve on the Museum Board of Governors. This structure recognises the significance of the support – especially financial – that the not-for-profit public museum will rely upon from the members of the Mullin Museum Club. It is only with the support of the Museum Club and its membership within the classic car community, that public access to some of the world’s most remarkable and valuable private collections is made possible.

  • Membership will be limited to 500 members in year one and a maximum of 1,500 members after three years. Use of facilities by new members is expected to peak in the first weeks and months after joining before settling down to a steady but lower frequency. Staging membership intake over a period of 36 months will ensure the use of the facilities is evenly distributed and consistent.

  • In the light of the ambition to create a world leading museum, membership will include classic car owners, collectors and enthusiasts from around the world. All Members will be required to sign the Mullin Museum Club Constitution which will include a commitment to the site’s ambitious travel targets (set out in The Mullin Museum Travel Plan) and encouraged to use sustainable modes of travel to get to site. Applying a diversity factor for similar clubs with local and international membership, the Transport Assessment for the Development indicates that members will generate approximately 460 two way vehicle movements per day over an average seven day period. This includes allowance for guests. During weekdays, the majority of visits by club members are expected to be in the evening, outside of the hours of operation of the Museum. On weekends, member visits are expected to be more evenly spread throughout the day, with peaks at lunchtime and in the evenings. To meet the Museum’s sustainable transport aims, there will be an on-site travel co-ordinator. Club Members will have access to a dedicated concierge who will be able to arrange their travel to the site, including utilising the shuttle bus for efficient transfer from preferred rail stations and other transport hubs.

  • The Mullin Museum Club will operate in accordance with its Constitution and members will be required to accept and observe the Club Rules at all times. Access to the club facilities is restricted to members and their guests only. Members may bring up to a maximum of three guests each. The member must be present with their guests. Members only may book the club rooms along with a maximum of three guests.

A Gift To The Nation

In summary, we offer the words of benefactor Peter Mullin, whose invaluable private collection forms the centrepiece of this unique new public museum:

“I turned 82 in January 2023. I have made a 30-year commitment to this project. By any definition that is a legacy – not a business enterprise. I regard myself as a custodian – not a collector. My aim is always to illuminate, innovate and educate.

My particular passion for the automobile is not about top speed or horsepower, but about the extraordinary impact that the car has had on mankind; the mobility, the ingenious design, the engineering and the beauty of art in motion.

By any conventional measure this will not just be another car museum. In the 6,000+ years of recorded human history, we have had the automobile for just 133 years, since 1890. Our great grandchildren will probably never drive a motor car - at least not as we know it. Instead, they will travel in secure autonomous pods controlled by a computer.

The wonder and awe of the automobile – that today we may take for granted – will be an experience they will only ever be able to share by coming to a destination like The Mullin.”

Peter Mullin