Birmingham, 14 – 16 November 2008
Two shows for the price of one! Visitors to either the Classic Motor Show or the MPH Show, at the National
Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, were able to access the other show at no additional cost. This bargain deal,
especially in these difficult economic times, led to massive crowds at the venues over the weekend of 14 – 16
November. In fact, on Saturday the volume of people trying to move between the Classic Show and the MPH
Show was so great, that they had to be redirected via the main exit and entry points, rather than using the link
between the halls. The central location with not only a direct motorway link, but also a covered walkway to both
the railway station and Birmingham International Airport, must be another factor in its popularity. These features
mean that access is easy, not only for the home crowd, but also for international visitors, which, from
conversations overheard, were numerous.
Big is Beautiful - Over the years the Classic Motor Show has expanded enormously, and this year occupied 5
halls of the complex, together with the “Pavillion” area dedicated to the two wheel classic motoring community,
with their own dedicated “bike jumble” area. Within the halls there were over 1000 vehicles of all descriptions,
displayed on around 170 one-make club and numerous trade stands, with large autojumble and trade areas
featuring around 300 traders selling virtually everything from nuts and bolts to original artwork. Other features
included a live stage, a restoration theatre, and “Dream Rides”, where for a charitable donation visitors could
enjoy a ten mile ride in a classic car.
Classic Clubs - The pre-war era representation included a fine display on the Bugatti Owners’ Club stand, and
on that of the Pre-War Austin 7 Club, together with another nice array in the Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club
display, which included dissected display engines and an “exploded” automatic gearbox. All the major marque
clubs had some impressive displays between them, including the BMW Car Club, with a nice selection of M3
variants and a 2002 Turbo, the Ferrari Owners’ Club, with their concours winning 275 GTS, The Mercedes Benz
Club GB, with 300 SLs in Roadster and Gullwing form, the Maserati Club UK and the MG Owners’Club, to name
but a few.
Americana - The American car and car culture is popular in many parts of the world, and the United Kingdom is
no exception, as witnessed by the large presence at the 2008 show. There was a wide range of “American
Iron”, ranging from plastic in the form of the Chevrolet Corvette, of which there were a number of variants on
display, through to hot rods and dragsters. Of course there were icons like the sixties Ford Mustang, along with
a ’57 Chevy Bel Air in “drag”.
Sports & Racing - The motor sport enthusiast wasn’t left out in the cold, as there were numerous competition
vehicles dotted around the halls. Amongst the rally cars on display were an MG Metro 6R4, and from earlier
generations Sunbeam Talbots and Rapiers, plus a Hillman Imp. There were two sixties Le Mans pit lane
recreations, one featuring the Sunbeam Alpines that ran there, and another featuring a pair of AC Cobras, one
being “refuelled”. Octane magazine’s stand featured another AC Cobra, together with a Maserati 250 F F1 car,
chassis # 2501. The Meguiar’s display included a Ferrari 268 SP sports racing model, and the Skoda Club GB
had an Octavia rally car and a early sports racing model on display. The Porsche Club of Great Britain had a
wildly modified 911 racing variant together with a Porsche powered Arrows F1 car on display, whilst the Alfa
Romeo Owners’ Club had both a TZ1 and TZ2 to delight enthusiasts of the marque, together with the new 8C
model and a rare Alfa Romeo car transporter.
Obscurities – Apart from the maybe better established cars on display there were a few more obscure
offerings! There was a stand for the Classic Hearse Register, featuring some quite bizarre vehicles converted
into hearses, including a Fiat estate car, with very ornamental lights decorating both the inside and outside, a
VW “Caravanette” and a Land Rover! There were also stands for micro cars, the Period & Classic Caravan
Club, the Police Vehicles Enthusiasts Club and the Ex-Military Range Rover Association. Then there were club
stands for rarities like the Fairthorpe, Gordon Keeble, Monteverdi, Peerless, Rochdale and Warwick marques.
So it can be seen that there were a wide variety of niche interest displays to make a break from the regular
offerings.
MPH – “The Prestige & Performance Motor Show” was held in hall 5 of the NEC alongside the Classic Motor
Show. Apart from the displays of exotic and unusual cars, there was also the Land Rover Driving Experience
and the famed TV motoring programme Top Gear’s Live Theatre, featuring the stars of the series Jeremy
Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and “The Stig”, carrying out a series of zany stunts, although
separate tickets had to be purchased to experience the latter. Here one could also salivate over extreme
machines like the Pagani Zonda, Gumpert Apollo, Gemballa Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Gallardo and
Murcielago Roadster to name but a few. There were also numerous tuning/customising stands, with wild
variations on more everyday cars like the Peugeot 306, together with specialist British car manufacturers like
Aeriel, Invicta, Keating and Salica. Autoglym had their Celebrity Concours display area, which featured the
amazing polished aluminium Napier Railton from the Brooklands Museum, amongst the fine selection of cars
on display. Thus the “Two for the Price of One” shows provided a truly diverse selection of both classic and
modern motoring for the enthusiast attendees.
David O’Neill
11/2008
Ferrari Models on Display
Ferrari Owners’ Club
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