World records, debut cars, insane stunts, and inspirational workshops for aspiring youngsters - there’s a lot to enjoy at the British Motor Show 2023.
The event takes place August 17-20 at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre, Hampshire.
It’s a show steeped in history, with the first British Motor Show taking place at London’s now-destroyed Crystal Palace way back in 1903.
After a prolonged hiatus between 2008 and 2021, the British Motor Show was revived, revamped, and reinvigorated by organiser Andy Entwistle, Chief Executive of Automotion Events.
And in an exclusive interview with Select Car Leasing, Andy has revealed why this year’s show offers MORE of just about everything - from exclusive vehicle reveals to activities for the entire family.
What’s more, we’ve got an amazing discount on British Motor Show tickets for Select Car Leasing readers and customers.
Simply head to the British Motor Show online ticket website and use the code ‘SCL23’ at checkout.
You’ll instantly get £5 off an adult ticket, or £10 off a family ticket (2 Adults and 2 Children).
Here, in our feature article, British Motor Show chief Andy lifts the lid on why 2023 is a BIG year for the event.
Andy - you’re promising more of everything this year for British Motor Show guests. What can visitors expect?
We’ve got an amazing show planned. We’ve got more cars, more live action, more driving experiences and test drives, more interactive activities, and more celebrities and influencers on stage. In terms of Show exclusives, we’ve got a first look at the BYD Seal, an exciting new electric saloon, the first public viewing of the Aston Martin DB12, the brand new SsangYong Musso pickup, various different versions of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz, and new cars from British manufacturer INEOS. You can also look forward to appearances from all of your favourite vehicle makers.
We’re seeing more and more Chinese manufacturers like BYD join the UK leasing market - how do you view that trend?
It’s my feeling that some of the bigger manufacturers have been caught napping slightly when it comes to new Chinese vehicles. The European brands perhaps haven’t learned from the 1970s, when the Japanese turned up and the landscape changed forever! Yes, the Chinese firms have to build their brand here in the UK, and that will take time, but the crucial thing to remember is that they’ve got a really good product. Just look at BYD. They’re already a huge company, on a global scale, and people perhaps don’t realise just how big they are when it comes to the electric vehicle market. The established, mainstream manufacturers can’t sit on their laurels. They need to get their cars in front of as many customers as they can, otherwise someone is going to take a test ride in a BYD, and never look back.
Something brand new for the British Motor Show 2023 is the ‘Car Maintenance for Kids’ area, which is being run in conjunction with Haynes Motor Museum. What’s the thinking behind this addition to the event?
When I first got involved, the driving force behind the British Motor Show was to re-engage with a new audience - and a younger audience. I got my love for cars when I was a kid and I want other youngsters to have the same experience. There are some great car shows out there to enjoy. The Goodwood Festival of Speed, for example, is fantastic. But it’s also expensive and it’s not really designed for kids. The British Motor Show, on the other hand, is there to entertain and educate the entire family. And I thought the Car Maintenance for Kids area would be a really fun way to get kids to really engage kids with what’s in front of them. It’s aimed at younger children, aged between 7 and 13 years old, who love cars - but who don’t necessarily understand what’s under the bonnet. It might be that they want to look after mum or dad’s car in the future. And we’ve got a petrol-engined car - a classic MINI - and an electric vehicle, to cover both areas of tech. We’ll clamber around the car and point out where the washer fluid goes, what the radiator does, and how to check the tyre tread. It’s meant to be fun, but also gives them enough information that they feel they might be able to help out with car maintenance in the future.
That early knowledge is also good for the industry in general, isn’t it?
It really is, yes. The Car Maintenance for Kids area is actually located right next to our Careers Hub. And the hope here is that we inspire lots of young people to want to work in the automotive industry. You come to the show because you’ve got an interest in cars. So why don’t you take that passion into your career? As the saying goes - if you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. We also want to show people that working in the automotive industry is not just about ‘spanners and sales’ - either getting oily, taking an engine to pieces, or sitting in a dealership selling cars. It’s about so much more than that. It’s about events, design, programming, marketing - you name it.
(Andy, pictured above, closest to car)
And what about electric vehicles in general - are you fully on board the EV bandwagon?
I think EVs absolutely have their place in the future of automotive, but they’re not the only solution. We’ve been running a sustainable fuels project with our traditional, 5.0 litre V8 Ford Mustang. The fuel is called ‘Sustain’, from Coryton Advanced Fuels, and it’s a biofuel that’s extracted from biomass. The car puts-out CO2, but the CO2 emitted has already been taken from the air as part of the manufacturing process, so the fuel is carbon neutral. All of our ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles at the show are being run on this fuel. And the brilliant thing about biofuels is that a car doesn’t need to be specially converted to run on them. Just put it in the tank, and off you go. I think the short-term future for motoring in the UK is a combination of both EVs and biofuel. You’ll see electric vehicles for people who can charge at home and who can afford one. And for the people who perhaps aren’t ready to go battery-powered - because they live in a block of flats and can’t charge at night, or they’re running a classic car they don’t want to get rid of - you’ve got sustainable fuel. The challenge is getting more people behind biofuels, getting the cost down, and getting it to petrol stations. What biofuels will do, in my view, is to take the pressure off the industry while the EV charging infrastructure is further reinforced.
Smashing Guinness World Records is a big thing for the British Motor Show.
Last year stunt driver Paul Swift broke two World Records, in two days, for ‘tightest parallel park in an electric vehicle’ and doing the ‘most donuts in a car around a motorcycle performing a wheelie in one minute’.
What World Records are in the firing line this year?
This year we want to do something that’s going to be a REAL spectacle and which uses the whole arena. So Paul is going to see how quickly he can do FIVE of the most iconic car stunts, back to back. Spectators will basically be treated to an entire car show in double-quick time. Paul has worked behind the scenes on lots of different movies and TV shows (Fast & Furious 9, Top Gear, etc), so the five stunts he’s going to perform are all moves you might have seen on the big or small screen.
The obvious one is a donut.
Then you’ll have a ‘J-Turn’ - where you’re reversing backwards, being chased by the baddies, before you jam on the handbrake, spin around, and throttle off into the sunset.
He’s going to put a car on two wheels.
Paul will also do a drift.
And then he’s going to perform a high speed parallel park.
Guinness World Records has given us a minimum time to beat of just 60 seconds. We hope to break that record on day 1 of the Show, and then we’ll try to get the time down further every day after that point.
Elsewhere at the show, we’ve also got the World’s Fastest Shed, World’s Fastest Wheelie Bin, the World’s Fastest Wheelbarrow, and the World’s Longest Mobility Scooter!
British Motor Show guests can enjoy some celebrity spotting, too. Who’s going to be turning up?
We’ve got Mike Brewer from TV’s Wheeler Dealers, Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend from Car SOS, and we’ve also got motorcycle legend and Isle of Man TT hero John McGuinness. We’re excited to welcome John, and motorcycles are something we’re starting to integrate into the show, alongside all of the cars. We’ve got two very famous influencers in the form of AJ and Curtis Pritchard from Strictly Come Dancing and Love Island, who are actually really into their cars. And we’ve also got former Formula 1 driver Max Chilton, who is joining us on the Sunday. It’s a nice mix of people.
https://thebritishmotorshow.live
** Exclusive Select Car Leasing discount!
Head to the British Motor Show online ticket website and use the code ‘SCL23’ at checkout. You’ll instantly get £5 off an adult ticket, or £10 off a family ticket (2 Adults and 2 Children).
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