Anthony Hamilton celebrates collaboration with National Motor Museum

Anthony Hamilton, father of seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, visited the NEC Classic Motor Show this weekend to celebrate the recommissioning of a Triumph TR2 by his restoration team, along with the formation of a new partnership with the National Motor Museum.

The car, a 1954 example, was bequeathed to the National Motor Museum Trust (NMMT) by Mr D A Simes in 1998 and recently restored by 110 Garage, a Herefordshire-based firm established by Anthony Hamilton focused on classic restoration along with its team members’ heritage skills and professional development. A legacy from the family of Mr John Weeks was used by the NMMT to pay for the work alongside sponsorship by 110 Garage.

The restoration has retained as many original features as possible, including the car’s original paintwork, and is the first product of a partnership between the NMMT, the National Motor Museum itself and 110 Garage – a collaboration now known as Beaulieu Engineering and Maintenance (BEaM). The partnership will work towards creating a ‘centre of excellence’ for the training of heritage engineers, while also assisting the museum in the continued conservation of its diverse collection held at its premises at Beaulieu, Hampshire.

Speaking to Classics World on the National Motor Museum stand at the show, Anthony Hamilton was enthusiastic about the new project.

“Last time I went to the Beaulieu museum I realised I have a great team of guys at 110 Garage that work with me restoring my own cars, and I wanted to offer the museum an opportunity to have [them] work on their cars with heart and emotion,” Hamilton told us.

“I proposed the scheme [BEaM] to the museum and thought if I can convince them to trust sending their cars out topeople like my garage, hopefully they can trust other garages so that all of these beautiful machines keep running.” Hamilton said.

“For us it was a great honour to be given the opportunity to recommission the car,” he continued. “What a great feeling to be trusted with a vehicle by Beaulieu and to then give it back and have them absolutely happy with it.”

Jon Murden, chief executive of the National Motor Museum is similarly enthused by the prospect of the BEaM partnership. “It’s the first time we have worked with Anthony Hamilton and his team at 110 Garage to restore one of our vehicles,” he stated. “We hope that this successful project marks the first steps in a long-term partnership to make our visions for making BEaM a reality.”