Motor show on the move

By Richard Yarrow

15th March 2010

The British Motor Show is back, but not as you’ve seen it before! Organisers of the Goodwood Festival of Speed are signing up manufacturers to enable visitors to drive the latest cars up the legendary Hillclimb.

The event is being dubbed the world’s first Moving Motor Show, and the news comes as the future of the official British Motor Show hangs in the balance. This year’s biennial spectacular at London’s ExCeL was cancelled due to a lack of industry support, and bosses at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) are warning of no firm plans for 2012. By contrast, 15 brands have already signed up for the Moving Motor Show, including Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar. Italian sports car maker Pagani has also expressed interest.

It’s scheduled for Thursday 1 July, with the Festival of Speed to follow from Friday to Sunday as usual. A spokesman said: “We are dipping our toe in the water of turning the Festival into a full motor show. Maybe in 10 years
we’ll have a proper British Motor Show at Goodwood – one that would last 10 days.”

Visitors will drive new cars off the manufacturers’ show stands on a 3.5-mile route around the West Sussex site. Roughly half of that would be the Hillclimb. A longer public road route is also being considered.

Commenting on the future of the official British Motor Show, an SMMT spokeswoman said: “We’re talking to the manufacturers. There’s interest in some kind of event that showcases their products and the industry.” She said it was undecided if it would be a ‘traditional’ motor show and if it would take place in 2012.

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