The British Motor Show 2024 has rolled into town - and here’s our pick of the Top 5 things to immerse yourself in while you’re there.
The annual automotive event is taking place right now at the International Exhibition & Conference Centre, Farnborough, Hampshire. It runs until Sunday 18th August and (at the time of writing) tickets are still available.
And this week Select visited the full-throttle, tyre-smoking bash to get a feel for which cars were generating the most excitement and to talk to some of the people who make the event such a success.
Here’s our exclusive, access-all-areas review of the British Motor Show 2024:
New cars
One of the very first cars you’ll see as you walk into the British Motor Show 2024 is one of the most divisive electric vehicles of all time. Yep, it’s the Tesla Cybertruck.
It’s a huge hunk of metal with angular corners that’d struggle to meet UK standards when it comes to pedestrian safety.
But it’s a car that commands attention, riding high on 20-inch rims and enormous tyres. We’d liken the Cybertruck buzz to the craze for Hummers when they first hit the UK in the late Noughties.
Will the Cybertruck ever make it to Blighty? We had a chat with Tesla at the event who told us it’s still anyone’s guess. There’s no official word from the Californian firm as to whether or not the Cybertruck could be adapted to fit Euro regulations, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Stepping into the main arena, a slew of other fresh models caught the eye.
The all-new 480 hp BMW M2 was looking mean and moody in matt grey.
Curious event-goers also crowded around a brand new car that’ll soon join the UK leasing market - the JAECOO J7. JAECOO is a brand that sits under the umbrella of Chinese vehicle manufacturer Chery, the same people who brought us the recent Omoda 5.
The J7 will be available with hybrid and fully-electric powertrains and is being marketed as a premium rival to the Audi Q3. The cabin certainly impresses, with plush, soft-touch materials and ambient lighting everywhere you look while the dash is dominated by an enormous 15-inch touchscreen. It’s one to watch.
The electric Renault 5 E-Tech arrives with us early next year and looks sensational here wearing vivid green paintwork.
Meanwhile the 5’s performance sibling - the Alpine A290 hot hatch - is worth getting excited about.
Gavin Kearney, Alpine Brand Development Manager, told us the A290 will make it to the UK early next year. Entry-level ‘GT’ models will get 180 hp while the ‘GTS’ variants boosts the power to 220 hp and 300 Nm of torque, making it capable of accelerating from 0-62 mph in 6.4 seconds. That’s not rocket-ship quick, but with the A290 weighing just 1,479 kg it’ll be heaps of fun.
Charity motors
Scratch the skin of the British Motor Show and you’ll soon realise that, besides the new cars, there’s a whole lot more going on.
We chatted to Phil Harding and Tomos Parry who are heavily involved in a charitable endeavour called ‘Bangers4Ben’. It’s an annual banger rally organised by British Motor Show chief Andy Entwistle which raises money for the automotive industry charity Ben - which supports anyone who works or has worked in the automotive industry, particularly when it comes to health, wellbeing and financial hardship.
Bangers4Ben 2024 will see around 45 funsters heading to the alpine passes of Switzerland.
Phil says: “We have a different theme every year and for 2024 it’s cartoon characters. Last year we raised nearly £100,000 for the charity, so the plan is to raise even more than that this time around. The car you enter has to be sourced for less than £750. And then at the end of the rally every single car goes to the auction with all the money raised going straight to the charity.”
Phil and Tomos, who both work for a firm called Automotive Compliance, will be swanning off to Switzerland in a cut-price Honda CR-V, complete with a fur-wrapped exterior.
Do the bangers always survive the gruelling journey?
Phil laughs: “Every year, there’s always one that doesn’t finish. But we’re really lucky in that we have two AA vehicles following us who often work miracles to keep the cars running. Some people check their bangers meticulously before they set off. And then some of us just buy them, drive them and hope for the best! The best thing about the trip is the camaraderie between drivers. You make great friends and everyone just helps each other out. It’s epic.”
Owners clubs
In every corner of the British Motor Show you’ll find a dedicated owners club.
And we couldn’t walk past the Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain without stopping for a chat.
Roy Stapleton, Chairman, reveals how the thriving group comprises 2,500 members who can join for just £25 a year.
Roy’s pictured here standing next to his 2007 Ford Mustang modified by American performance specialists Saleen. There’s a 4.6-litre V8 under the bonnet and Roy reckons it’s a ‘nice, sensible drive’, returning around 28 miles to the gallon.
He’s been all around Europe in it with the club, covering eleven countries and more than 3,000 miles in three weeks alone last year.
All Mustang enthusiasts are welcome in the group - and that includes anyone who loves the fully-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E, which you can lease with Select.
Roy reveals: “Anything that Ford nails a horse to the front of is a Mustang. It’s not for us to decide what is or what isn't considered a 'proper' Mustang. If you love the Mach-E and it suits your lifestyle, that’s fine by us, and it’s a car that always generates lots of interest at our meets.
“The group itself is a broad church. Some people like cruising around on a sunny summer’s day in a 67’ Mustang, some people want to do the quarter mile in a straight line, some people want to go as fast as they can around the Nurburgring. Everyone wants something different from their Mustang and we welcome it all. Whatever floats your boat.”
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Car meets
Looking for like-minded people to indulge your passion? You’ll find them at events like the British Motor Show.
Take Richie Rivers, for example, seen here relaxing in his 1982 VW van.
He’s the owner of Rivo’s Hub, a ‘carbs and coffee’ shop located in Sandford, Dorset, and which acts as an automotive meeting point for lovers of both cars and bikes.
Ex-military man Richie, who was also showing-off a unique bare metal VW Trekker from the 1970s, explains: “We love VWs and anything Americana but we try to cater for every make and model at our gatherings. Each week we have a different meet and there are bike nights, too.”
By the looks of Richie’s show cars, it’s well worth a visit. And there are countless other automotive tribes to find at events like the British Motor Show.
The Beast
When it comes to weird and wonderful, nothing holds a candle to the Beast.
Back in the 1960s and 70s, two Brit engineers John Dodd and Paul Jameson decided to take bits from Rolls-Royce cars and the Rolls-Royce ‘Merlin’ engine fitted (in supercharged form) to the World War II Spitfire fighter plane to create the mother of all estates.
The 27-litre engine (you read that right) gave the Beast around 1,000 bhp and saw it being crowned ‘the world’s most powerful car’ by Guinness in 1977 having clocked a top speed of 183 mph.
After Dodd passed away in 2022, the Beast changed hands in 2023. The new owner wanted a new exterior colour - which is why the eccentric creation was handed over to vehicle wrapping specialists Doodle Signs, who took it from Seventies beige to a much colour two-tone grey-ish blue.
Doodle Signs’ Jarryd Davies and Matthew Chittenden filled us in on the immense task they faced in transforming the Beast’s bling.
Matthew says: “It took nine days for us to wrap. Most normal cars take two days, so you can see the scale of the job! But we're delighted with the way it has turned out.”
** You can read our chat with British Motor Show organiser Andy Entwistle here.
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