GLASGOW.- Glasgow Museums has taken delivery of the youngest car in its collection, a rare Honda Insight Mk1 from 2000. It is one of only 239 Mk1s sold in the UK and the first hybrid car to be acquired for the city’s renowned transport and travel collection. Described as ‘the blueprint for contemporary hybrids’ the Honda Insight enables Glasgow Museums to tell the story of the emergence of electric vehicles and environmentally friendly transport.

The car was donated by Charles Collins from Braco near Dunblane, who purchased the red, two-seater coupe in 2009. Charles was commuting 120 miles per day, which led him to search out a fuel efficient car with a small engine. He found it in the Honda Insight, which offered 83.1 miles per gallon in combined urban/ extra urban driving conditions.

Charles Collins recalls his first experience of the car: “I felt like I was in some kind of car from the future, like in Minority Report. On leaving the garage the first thing I noticed was how responsive the acceleration was, due to the electric battery located at the back of the car. The second was how silent it was, there is very little engine noise, which made it far more enjoyable to drive.

“It’s a real head-turner. It always provokes a reaction. I’m not sure why, perhaps because of the unique shape and having the rear wheels covered. Not all attention has been good though, you do get the odd white van man passing, whilst laughing with his work mates!”

“I’m really pleased to have donated the car – it feels like the future has now become a part of history.”

Curator of transport and technology with Glasgow Museums, Neil Johnson-Symington and Jacek Wiklo, transport and technology conservator with Glasgow Museums took delivery of the Honda Insight at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.

Chair of Glasgow Life, Councillor Archie Graham, said: “We are very grateful to Charles for his generous donation to the city’s collection.

“The car has arrived at Glasgow Museum Resource Centre, where the public can see it on one of our pre-booked transport tours. We are working on a new display for Riverside, Scotland’s museum of transport and travel. In time this striking and technologically significant car will be the centre piece of an exhibition reflecting the changes in 21st century car design, which take more account of important environmental considerations.”

Classic & Sports Car magazine recently described the Honda Insight as “a testbed for new technology” due to its weight-saving aluminium body shell, aerodynamic coupe design, auto engine cut-off and the combined power of a small 990cc petrol engine with an integrated electric motor/generator – the IMA, integrated motor assist.

Although Honda made a financial loss with the development of the Insight, it is widely accepted they paved the way for the creation of the mainstream hybrid cars popular today. Indeed, an article in the Daily Telegraph in 2014, entitled ‘Classic Green Cars’ commented that the Insight was “ahead of its time… and can be seen as a blueprint for contemporary hybrids.”

Riverside Museum shows off the breadth of Glasgow’s world-class travel and transport collection through its multidisciplinary story displays. Glasgow Museums aim to ensure exhibitions and displays reflect the past, present and future. This acquisition will afford curators the opportunity to create a display examining car manufacturers’ shift towards developing and promoting alternative energy vehicles, just like this Mk1 Honda Insight.