Rare Black Country-built scooter is newest addition to award-winning museum's collection
A restored rare scooter is the latest acquisition by the Black Country Museum (BCLM) to support its 1960s storytelling.
The museum, which was recently crowned Large Visitor Attraction of the Year by the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, has expanded its storytelling up to the 1960s and has made this new addition to its transport collection.
The acquisition, a “DKR Capella De-Luxe”, was a locally built machine that was relatively affordable, reliable and convenient to use.
BCLM’s transport manager Tim Shields said “The DKR Capella represents a rare and significant piece of Black Country manufacturing heritage.
"As a stylish, high-quality, and well-engineered lightweight scooter, it fills an important gap in our collection alongside our other local made scooter, the DKR Defiant.
"Beyond their practical use as an accessible mode of transport, scooters came to embody the spirit of 1960s youth culture, having become an enduring symbol of the Mod movement and fashion of the era.”
Established in 1957, DKR took its initials from the three founders of the company: Barry Day, Noah Robinson and racing car builder Cyril Kieft.
Many of the scooter parts, including the body panels, were made locally in Willenhall by the Willenhall Motor Radiator Company, with the machine itself assembled in workshops at Pendeford Airport in Wolverhampton.
This particular model retailed at £173 13s 10d when new in 1960, or more than £4,500 in today’s currency, and powered by a 173cc kick-start single cylinder two-stroke engine, along with a four-speed gearbox, the Capella sports a “futuristic” design, with a brightly painted pressed steel body.
Although DKR launched several models of scooter, production ceased in 1966, with its decline largely due to falling sales and increased competition from foreign manufacturers, such as the Italian-built Vespa and Lambretta.
Previous owners Andrew and Lesley Moore, who donated the Cappella to the museum, said: “We’ve been to the museum’s Festival of Vehicles a few years ago, and we learned how unusual and unique the DKR scooters are, and we thought that we’d love to see it returned to the area where it’s from so it can be viewed and enjoyed by as many people as possible.”
Visitors can expect to see the scooter on display at the museum inside the Bradburn & Wedge Motor Garage, or being brought to life, being ridden around the museum's 29-acre site by historic characters and featured in the museum's programme of events such as the Festival of Vehicles.
