Why a rare classic car has been brought inside and gift-wrapped for Christmas near Sheffield

But the centrepiece of a festive display at the David Mellor Design Museum, at Hathersage, is most definitely not for sale.

Corin Mellor, the son of David who now runs the family business following his father’s death a decade ago, has imported a rare 1966 Corvette Stingray from Los Angeles which has been wrapped in a neat bow and put on show near the museum's café.

It will be on show until Christmas – and James Lawless, from the design company, said everyone had been thrilled to see it arrive.

He said: “Corin is a self-confessed classic car fanatic.

“He loves automotive design and for the last few Christmas seasons we’ve had something very special on display.

“We’ve had a 1950s Thunderbird filled with presents, some 1960s Honda US90s pulling a sledge, and a 1960s Porsche driven by a snowman.”

The Corvette Stingray was designed in 1963 by Bill Mitchell, who used glass fibre moulding to create the radical futuristic form of the C2 Stingray. David Mellor was best known as a maker of cutlery but he was responsible for many other things, not least designing Britain’s traffic light system. Corin is also a renowned designer in his own right.