Best car factory tours in the UK and Europe

For many true petrolheads, buying, owning, driving and maintaining a car – while hugely rewarding – isn't quite enough. No, if you are a genuine car nut, you want to go a bit further than this – you want to see how these marvels of technology and locomotion actually come into existence.

And, to gain a true understanding of how cars are put together, no experience will be as rewarding or informative as a tour of a car factory. The good news is that you have many options here: most of the major car manufacturers across the UK and Europe open their factory doors to small groups to let them see behind the scenes.

Here's our pick of some of the best car factory tours. And yes, we've included some on the Continent. A European tour in your classic, centred on a few factory tours of some of Europe's most illustrious marques: how brilliant does that sound? Just make sure you get the right classic car insurance cover for all the countries you'll be visiting.

Jaguar (Castle Bromwich, West Midlands, UK)

Jaguar is, and has always been, one of Britain's most revered car marques. Ownership of one of the brand's iconic big sporting saloons is a source of pride and joy to many British drivers. Many of those classic Jags are now, of course, prime candidates for classic car insurance – the unforgettable E-Type obviously, but also more recent models such as the XJ6.

Visitors to the Jaguar plant in Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands can get a feel for the entire process of how these iconic British cars are brought to life, right from sheet-metal stage to the intricate but crucial final touches.

You and your party can tour Jaguar's state-of-the-art production facilities, seeing for yourself how skilled technicians and sophisticated machines work in perfect harmony to create Jaguar's handsome, tech-heavy cars – from the awesome F-Type sports car to the rugged and super-capable F-Pace SUV.

Highlights of the tour include watching the world's largest aluminium press at work, as it moulds the F-Type structure. Elsewhere, you'll get to experience over 100 hi-tech robots working in perfect synchronisation – and you'll see that never-to-be-forgotten moment when power rushes through the car's engine for the very first time.

Audi (Ingolstadt, Germany)

Audi has been building cars at its main site in Ingolstadt, southern Germany for over 70 years now, having begun production at the Ingolstadt site back in 1949. Several iconic Audis have been built here down the decades, including the legendary Quattro, that 1980s rallying hero, as well as several generations of the 100, a deserved European Car of the Year winner back in 1983.

Today, some 44 employees work at the firm's headquarters and its biggest production facility, all working to achieve the firm's mantra of Vorsprung durch Technik (that's 'progress through technology' to you and me). Many of the brand's current top sellers – including the Q2 crossover, A3 hatchback, A4 saloon / estate and A5 coupé – are built at Ingolstadt.

Visitors to the Ingolstadt site can accompany some of these handsome, popular models on the journey along the assembly lines, witnessing how – thanks to the factory's extensive digitisation – thousands of components each reach the appropriate car on the line at exactly the right moment. You can also witness that fabled moment known as the 'marriage', when body and the drivetrain are united for the first time.

The tour takes around an hour and a half and covers a couple of miles, so bring some comfortable shoes. Your ticket also includes entry to the Audi Museum over the road, which is home to around 100 models, both current and historic.

Morgan (Malvern, Worcestershire, UK)

Ah, we do love Morgan here at Lancaster Classic Car Insurance. A tour around Morgan's Worcestershire production site is a little bit different from your usual factory tour. The reason for this is that these wonderful cars, beautiful evocations of a stylish motoring past, are handmade – famously using three core materials, ash, aluminium and leather.

That means that a visit to the Morgan factory, at Pickersleigh Road just outside the pretty spa town of Malvern, is accompanied less by the roar of machinery, and more by an air of quiet concentration as wood is shaped and planed into the elegant contours of a classic Morgan car.

In fact, the Morgan production process features a unique mix of timeless craft skills and up-to-the-minute technology – but the company's bespoke, handmade feel does allow visitors to get up close to many of the production processes. You won't find yourself peering through viewing galleries or walking along imitation production lines here. Instead, you will be guided through every workshop – each one with its own distinctive sounds, sights, and smells – by one of Morgan's experienced and knowledgeable tour guides.

If you're after a factory tour that tells a story of passion and dedication, a visit to Morgan should be high on your list.

Land Rover (Solihull, West Midlands, UK)

The factory known as the Solihull plant has a rich history. During the war, Solihull – under management by Rover – built Bristol Hercules aircraft engines, for use in Handley Page Halifax and Short Stirling bombers as well as the Bristol Beaufighter bomber-cum-fighter.

The factory was then given over to Rover automobiles – firstly under independent Rover ownership, and later as part of the wider British Leyland family between 1968 and 1978. Latterly, it's been home to two iconic Land Rover products: the Series (later Defender) and its bigger, more upmarket sibling, the familiar classic that is the Range Rover.

Both of these hugely capable off-roaders are now revered classics, and among the most popular cars for which we provide classic car insurance. Other cars to come out of Solihull down the decades include several generations of big Rovers, from the P3 to the SD1, as well as the wedge-shaped Triumph TR7.

Visitors can get behind the scenes of Solihull's new state-of-the-art production facility via a guided tour. You'll see just what it takes to bring to life three iconic modern Land Rover vehicles: the new, fifth-generation Range Rover, plus its Sport and Velar derivatives.

You'll meet a robotic army working in complete synchronicity, and you'll tour different areas of the factory, from the Body shop to the Final Assembly area.

You'll also get a look at the brand new Kingmakers Exhibition, which looks back to the 1960s and to those visionaries and vehicles that paved the way for the original Range Rover, which made such waves when it appeared in 1970.

Lotus (Hethel, Norfolk, UK)

Relatively few car marques, we'd argue, have quite the 'halo status' of Lotus, whose history we plumbed in detail in this article.

From its base in the Norfolk countryside, the brand has created some genuinely revered cars. These include the light and beautiful Elan, the very definition of carefree 1960s style, and the Esprit, a symbol for another sort of style about a generation later (and famous for its amphibious Bond appearance).

But that's far from all: Lotus also has some proud stories to tell in motorsport. The marque has created some genuine racing legends in the shape of cars like the 18, its first-ever rear-engined car, or the 25 – the first monocoque Formula 1 car, so memorably driven to the 1963 World Championship by Jim Clark.

Visit the Lotus factory at Hethel and you'll get a strong sense of the passion and inspiration that has fuelled all these wonderful exploits on road and circuit alike. You can see the very track, for example, where Lotus' class-leading sports cars are put through their paces. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays you can also visit the home of Classic Lotus, a bespoke centre dedicated to the firm's illustrious racing legacy.

Germany Auto Factory Tours

This enterprising company makes the most of Germany's extraordinary motor manufacturing heritage, with factory and museum tours of all five of the big German manufacturers: Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen. Sign up for a tour and you will be ferried between the factories at Ingolstadt, Munich, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg: the package deals also include accommodation, breakfast and dinner.

What's more, the tours aren’t just about the cars: they also take in some of the amazing history, culture and architecture that Germany has to offer. So, for example, the eight- or 14-day Auto Factory Tours also take in two beautiful and historic castles.

These are Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein – the latter as seen in The Great Escape, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and on a thousand chocolate boxes. You'll also get to enjoy plenty of brilliant German food, beer and wine in local taverns and beer gardens.

Peugeot (Sochaux, France)

Peugeot has been building cars at Sochaux, in eastern France, since 1912 – and indeed, from 1928, it was the marque's major car producing plant (later joined by the Mulhouse site, of which more in a moment). Generations of classic Pugs have been built at the site, including the big, sturdy, go-anywhere 504 (another key Bond car, although on the evil side of the ledger this time, as we discussed here).

Today, the Sochaux plant is still a busy centre of automotive production – the 3008 and 5008 are both produced here. And you are welcome to come and take a look around. The factory tour comes as part of your visit to the Musée de L'Aventure Peugeot, the museum that the marque's founding family built just across the road from the plant back in 1988.

The complete factory visit lasts around two hours, of which you'll spend around an hour and a half in the plant itself. You can specify English as your tour language. Booking is essential.

PSA Peugeot Citroen (Mulhouse, France)

As we mentioned above, Peugeot got a second major factory in its home nation in 1972, when the plant at Mulhouse, some 40 miles east of Sochaux, began car production. Until then, the Mulhouse factory had been dedicated purely to the construction of the marque's transmission systems.

The first Peugeot to come out of the new plant was the 104, the French brand's first entry into the newly popular supermini class back in the 1970s. Perhaps the most iconic Mulhouse Peugeot, however, was the 205, one of the most defining cars of the 1980s, as well as (in GTI form) a strong candidate for the title of best hot hatch ever.

These days, the factory is dedicated to medium and high-end vehicles from Peugeot and its close partner, Citroen – including the 508 saloon and estate, DS7 Crossback and the new 308.

Two-hour tours can be booked via the Mulhouse Tourist Office via the link above.

Volvo (Torslanda, Sweden)

Visitors are welcome at the main Volvo factory at Torslanda, some eight miles north-west of Gothenburg city centre in southern Sweden. The plant employs some 5,000 workers, and produces around 170,000 cars each year.

Current Volvos rolling off the production line at Torslanda include the Volvo XC90 SUV, S90 and V90 executive saloon / estate duo and their smaller S60 and V60 siblings. Some of the more illustrious models to come out of the factory in the past, meanwhile, include the era-defining 240 range, another popular customer for classic car insurance with us here at Lancaster.

Almost all of the welding operations on site are now performed by robots, giving visitors a fascinating insight into the many imaginative uses of technology within the automotive industry. You'll tour the factory on board the special Blue Train, which will take you past many of the key processes and stages in production. Tours can be specified in either Swedish or English.

Maserati (Modena, Italy)

If a stylish Italian supercar is more your thing than a sturdy Swedish SUV, we'd steer you towards the tours of Maserati's plant at Modena in northern Italy. In fact, the brand has three plants across Italy: the Modena factory produces the Granturismo grand tourer and its Grancabrio soft-top variant, while two sites in Turin produce the Ghibli / Quattroporte saloons and Levante SUV respectively.

As we've discussed elsewhere on this blog, Maserati has always occupied a niche of its own among the Italian automotive elite. While rivals Lamborghini and Ferrari may have put speed and performance above everything else on their wishlist, Maserati cars of the 1960s and 1970s – such as the beautiful Ghibli, Indy and Khamsin – seemed to prioritise a certain style, and to favour grand tourer sophistication over out-and-out supercar aggression.

These days, the marque is a part of the larger Fiat Chrysler group, but has maintained its specialism in both sports and luxury saloon cars. The two Turin plants both opened in the last decade, a testament to the brand's lasting popularity: the Modena plant, though, has been producing beautiful Maseratis for around 80 years.

Fans can book a tour of the factory, which lasts around an hour and a half. You'll get to witness the big, beautiful GranCabrio and GranTurismo under construction, and you'll also visit the test and finishing areas.

Bentley (Crewe, Cheshire, UK)

This historic British marque has always been famed for its meticulous approach to car production, with every single element inside a Bentley car – from the engine and running gear via the upholstery to the entertainment system – being painstakingly assembled from the best materials available.

As such, a tour round the Bentley factory in Crewe is an inspiring experience, as you get to watch a wide range of craftspeople at the top of their game. Your tour includes the main assembly factory, where Bentley's current range – the Bentayga SUV, Continental grand tourer, and Flying Spur luxury saloon – are all built. After that, you'll get a look at the workshops, where the beautiful leather and wood that cover so much of the inside of a Bentley are carefully trimmed, moulded and stitched.

Finally, there's the short drive to CW1 House, the Bentley main showroom. The latter houses, among others, the oldest surviving Bentley, the EXP2, which made considerable waves in racing circles in the early 1920s.

MINI (Oxford, UK)

Plant Oxford, as it's known, is where the MINI magic happens. The historic plant, at Cowley just outside Oxford city centre, is where all the parts are assembled and come together to make road-ready MINI models.

The Oxford plant is the biggest and oldest of the UK's three MINI factories. Elsewhere, body panels and some assemblies are made at Plant Swindon, while Plant Hams Hall, in Birmingham, is where the marque's petrol engines are put together.

Plant Oxford is recognised as one of the best visitor experiences out there, whether or not you're a devoted petrolhead. Indeed, the plant tour received a ‘Best Told Story’ award from VisitEngland back in 2017: this accolade recognises attractions that ‘go the extra mile to provide a high-quality day out’.

Oxford builds more than 1,000 MINIs each day – and also welcomes visitors for a look behind the scenes at how this iconic British car is made. Tours of the plant run from Monday to Friday, and last just over two hours.

Great British Sports Cars (Nottingham, UK)

Now there's a name that does what it says on the tin. Based in Nottingham, Great British Sports Cars produce the Zero, a two-seater sports car along the lines of the Caterham Seven. You can get your Zero ready-built or assemble it yourself: you can also specify either a standard width, or a wider GT-style chassis.

Now 10 years into its lifespan, the Zero has recently appeared in second-generation guise, featuring a few small improvements over the original car.

And yes, you can tour the factory where these deliciously fun and compact sports cars come into being. Great British Sports Cars open up their factory for tours several times a year, allowing visitors a full insight into how these bespoke sports cars come into existence.

Elements of the tour include the workshop, design room, clean assembly room, engineering machine shop, parts and spares store, and the shop. It all finishes up in the showroom, where you can see the finished cars in the metal. Test drives may also be available upon request.

Tours typically take place on a Saturday morning, lasting around 90 minutes to two hours. Weekday and evenings tours can also be arranged on request.

Better still, the tours are free: GBSC merely asks for donations to be made to its two chosen charities, Cancer Research UK and the Notts & Lincs Air Ambulance.

SEAT (Martorell, Spain)

The vast SEAT factory at Martorell, some 20 miles north-west of Barcelona, is one of Europe's most productive car plants. In 2020 alone, the factory produced more than 468,000 units, exporting them to over 75 countries around the world. The factory produces a wide range of the current models from both SEAT and its sporty / electrified offshoot, Cupra. These include the Arona, Formentor, Ibiza – and the Leon, in both hatchback and estate (or 'Sports Tourer') guises. It's also the site of production for a fellow member of the wider Volkswagen Group family, the Audi A1 supermini.

Tours typically take place at various times of the day during the working week, and last around 90 minutes. Visitors are invited to tour the factory floor itself, as well as visiting the press and bodywork shops. As with so many of these European factory tours, you can specify a visit in English: just remember to tick the right box when booking your tour.

Visits to the factory are currently suspended at the time of writing – but check back regularly for updates.

Classic car insurance from Lancaster

A tour of some of these great car factories will give you an insight into the passion for automotive excellence that inspires these world-famous marques.

Here at Lancaster Classic Car Insurance, we're fuelled by a very similar passion for cars – specifically, for their loving care and maintenance, year after year. If caring for your classic is important to you, you've come to the right place.

Our extensive and long-lasting connections right across the classic car industry mean that we are brilliantly placed to offer you classic car insurance that’s just right for your retro vehicle.

Why not contact us today for a classic car insurance quote?

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