Car turntables for driveways, garages and galleries
A car turntable is a rotating plate set flush in the floor. You drive on, it turns the car, and you drive off forwards. It saves tight manoeuvres, and it shows a car off in a gallery.
This guide covers size, load, the pit, drainage and outdoor use. The figures come from Wöhr's data sheet for its Turntable 505. Other models will differ.
Updated
How a car turntable works
The car drives onto a round steel deck, level with the floor around it. A motor turns the deck through a full circle, either way.
It stops with the car facing the way out. Wöhr aims its Turntable 505 at tight sites, where cars can only drive forwards.
The drive is modest. Wöhr rates the motor at 0.55 kW, for one revolution a minute.
Size and turning circle
The Turntable 505 deck is 4.5m across. Wöhr asks for 30 cm of clear space around the car, on every side.
So a car 5m long needs a clear circle 5.6m across. Size it to the longest car in the collection.
Load
Wöhr gives a maximum vehicle weight of 4,000 kg for the Turntable 505. Each wheel may carry up to 1,000 kg.
Cars are getting heavier, and electric cars more so. UK government guidance notes weight gains of over 35% in popular models. We state the load in writing.
The pit, the finish and drainage
A turntable sits in a shallow pit. The builder forms the pit and its drainage.
After fitting, the gap around the outer ring is filled with concrete. Wöhr allows an installed slope of no more than 2% in any direction.
The deck can carry a finish to match the floor around it. Wöhr offers a 10 cm deep tray for this.
That finish is limited to 250 kg per square metre.
On a driveway
A turntable lets a car leave a short drive forwards, not in reverse. It can be installed outdoors.
Where temperatures fall below freezing, Wöhr requires heated pit edges. Outdoors, it is worked by a key switch with automatic reset.
The Thurloe Place permission in South Kensington paired a two-car lift with a turntable. Whether a turntable needs consent depends on the house and its setting.
Our planning permission guide covers the tests.
In a private gallery
Collectors already use turntables to show cars. One Hampstead Garden Suburb house was marketed with a basement turntable.
A Surrey garage won its appeal in 2019. It included a car lift, a turntable, a workshop and an art gallery.
Wöhr lists a classic car building in Copenhagen among its Turntable 505 projects.
In a BELOW gallery, every car already drives in and out forwards. So the turntable is there for display, often at the end of the aisle.
At the car lift
A drive-through lift needs length for a door at each end. On a short site, a turntable can turn the car instead.
Our residential car lift guide explains the trade-off. Our guide to car lift dimensions gives the space a lift needs.
Upkeep
A turntable is a machine, serviced with the car lift and pumps. Its pit drain is kept clear.
Under BELOW Care, each visit is booked, logged and reported. Our guide to designing a garage for a collection shows where a turntable fits.
Questions
- How big is a car turntable?
- The Wöhr Turntable 505 deck is 4.5m across. Allow 30 cm of clearance all round. So a 5m car needs a clear circle 5.6m across.
- How much weight can a car turntable take?
- Wöhr gives a maximum vehicle weight of 4,000 kg for its Turntable 505. Each wheel may carry up to 1,000 kg.
- Can a car turntable go on a driveway?
- Yes. Outdoor installation is possible. Where temperatures fall below freezing, Wöhr requires the pit edges to be heated.
- Does a car turntable need a pit?
- Yes, a shallow one with drainage, so the deck sits flush with the floor. The installed slope must not exceed 2% in any direction.
- Why put a turntable in a car gallery?
- To present one car at a time, lit and turning slowly. In a BELOW gallery every car already drives out forwards. So the turntable is for display.
Sources
- Wöhr, Turntable 505 product page
- Wöhr, Turntable 505 data sheet (August 2025)
- UK government, Covered car parks: fire safety guidance for electric vehicles, section 2 (July 2023)
- Planning Resource, High Court rejects neighbours' bid to overturn pop-up car lift permission
- Yahoo News UK, Hampstead Garden Suburb house with a six-car basement garage and turntable
- The Negotiator, Surrey subterranean garage wins planning on appeal (2019)