LONDON’S FREE MOTOR SHOW REVS UP - LBHVR Weekend

LONDON’S FREE MOTOR
SHOW REVS UP

 

A feast of motoring from the pioneering days to modern times is planned for Regent Street 

in the heart of the West End this weekend

 

Pre-Christmas shopping in London’s West End will take on a different slant this Saturday (1 November) as Regent Street is turned into a huge – and totally free – motor show.

Cars on show will range from the pioneering vehicles from the dawn of motoring to futuristic machines from today and tomorrow, with plenty of alternative forms of power to the fore.

Hundreds of veteran cars, getting ready for Sunday’s annual Bonhams London to Brighton Run, will be taking part in the prestigious EFG International Concours d’Elegance. As well as petrol-powered vehicles, there will be veteran cars powered by steam and even a pioneering electrically powered veteran.

And while there won’t be any modern steam cars on show, there will be plenty of brand new, pure electric cars from the likes of Tesla, BMW and Renault. The Regent Street Motor Show is the place to see what 110 years of progress looks like. Among a host of latest models on show will be the groundbreaking BMW i3; Renault Twizy, Captur, Twingo and Zoe; Infiniti Q50, OX70 and Q50 Hybrid plus three examples of Tesla’s luxurious Model S.

Other modern car marques on show will include Mini and Morgan while there will be special tributes celebrating 50 years of the Ford Mustang as well as 40 years of the powerful Porsche 911 Turbo.

Fans of TV’s anarchic motoring show can enjoy the full Top Gear Experience while motorbike enthusiasts will learn all there is to know about an exciting new European classic and racing motorcycle festival, to be held next year.

Bikes raced by superstars Freddie Spencer, Christian Sarron and Wayne Gardner will be on show and the men themselves will be there, happy to sign autographs.

Now in its tenth year, the Regent Street Motor Show is a unique showcase of motoring from the Victorian and Edwardian eras to the modern day.

This ‘mile of automotive style’ sees the famous street closed to traffic from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus for the day, so that enthusiasts, shoppers, London residents and tourists can pore over a huge variety of mouth-watering machinery embracing everything from motoring’s pioneers to the latest supercars. Last year it attracted more than 400,000 visitors.

Providing personalised information for all these visitors via an App on their smart phones, Regent Street's partner, autoGraph, is installing extra beacons on exhibits up and down the street. Content has been created to specially explain the exhibits based on the profile of the consumer – petrolheads will receive detailed technical specifications for the car; families with young children will get a cartoon and observations about the car suited to pre-teens. Where a car's owner is in period dress, fashionistas will get Edwardian fashion tips.

Beacons also will alert consumers to where they can buy programmes and, in the GP legends area, the beacons will be on the moving motorcycle exhibits so visitors will get fresh content as the GP machine is ridden past.

Regent Street will be demonstrating the latest technology in a fun and personal way, all driven by the consumer themselves, making Regent Street as smart as any website!

The Regent Street app, powered by autoGraph, can be downloaded from the iPhone App Store.

CHEF PREPARES A FEAST FOR CLASSIC CAR FANS - LONDON CLASSIC CAR SHOW 2015

Press Release For Immediate Distribution:  29/10/14

CHEF PREPARES A FEAST FOR

CLASSIC CAR FANS

 

TV star James Martin mixes cars and cuisine as he becomes a curator of the inaugural London Classic Car Show

 

TV chef and car nut James Martin is cooking up the perfect dish for visitors to January’s London Classic Car Show. His ingredients include a scattering of classic Minis and a fistful of Ferraris with a Ford Mustang garnish.

For as well as running his own café at the show, the star of Saturday Kitchen is a curator of the event and has been tasked with gathering displays of classic cars that have a particular personal meaning.

His starter is a gathering of five historically important Minis, all from his personal collection, which will be displayed inside the James Martin Classic Café.

The main course, meanwhile, includes a pair of rare Ferraris – a 275GTB and a Testarossa – and the Ford Mustang, all of which will be driven up and down one of the show’s unique features, The Grand Avenue.

Held at ExCeL in London’s Docklands from 8-11 January 2015, the London Classic Car Show is no static exhibition. Grand Avenue, a runway driving through the heart of the show, will be active at regular points throughout the event, giving visitors the chance to see (and hear) some of the world’s most valuable classic cars in action.

For James Martin, the London Classic Car Show is the perfect way to start the new year.

“There are two passions in my life, cars and cooking,” he said. “At the London Classic Car Show I will be able to combine the two… what could be better?

“I am particularly proud of the Mini display. I grew up driving Minis and I’ve always had a massive soft spot for the little car. I have been extremely fortunate in being able to collect some significant examples, some of which will be on display at the show.”

Most notable among these is, perhaps, the ‘works’ Cooper S that the legendary Paddy Hopkirk rallied back in 1963.

The James Martin Classic Café, meanwhile, will provide what he calls ‘good, simple grub’. In keeping with its surroundings, the café’s food will be dished up from a trio of classic vans and will be accessible by all visitors to the event.

The London Classic Car Show is the latest creation from Brand Events, the company behind all-action car shows like Top Gear Live.

Another show curator is Top Gear’s James May who will be putting together a thought-provoking collection of ‘Cars That Changed The World’. Other highlights include a special display celebrating the 60th anniversary of the dramatic Citroën DS and a first look at the new DS brand. The show will also have displays from leading classic car clubs, dealers and specialists.

Tickets are now available from the show website – www.thelondonclassiccarshow.co.uk – where early bird discounts reduce the on-the-door standard entry price from £25 to just £22.

Also available are family and group tickets, premium entry packages and access to the exclusive Preview Evening on the opening night, Thursday 8th January. Premium Tickets, which have limited availability, will give visitors access to The Grand Avenue’s premium viewing area, a drink and complimentary cloakroom plus a free copy of Octane magazine.

 

SOURCE: 
Copyright © 2014 MPA Creative,

PAUL HOLLYWOOD DRIVES BACK IN TIME! - London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

Media release for immediate distribution: 27/10/14

PAUL HOLLYWOOD DRIVES BACK IN TIME!
 

Celebrity baker gears up for debut on the historic Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

Paul Hollywood is turning back the clocks. The well-known television presenter is joining hundreds of other intrepid motorists taking an evocative trip down memory lane in this weekend’s Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (2 November).

The annual Run features more than 400 extraordinary automobiles dating back to the dawn of motoring and celebrates the original Emancipation Run, held on 14 November 1896. This marked the introduction of the Locomotives on the Highway Act that raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 to 14mph and abolished the need for a man walking ahead of the cars waving a red flag.

Along with all the other participants, Hollywood will be setting out from Hyde Park just after dawn and heading for the Sussex seafront aboard a pioneering car from the pre-1905 era. He will be driving a two-seater 1904 De Dion Bouton powered by a single-cylinder 6hp engine kindly loaned by the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu.

“It’s going to be great fun. I’ve always wanted to do the Run ever since my granddad used to talk about it, so I’m really looking forward to the journey,” enthused the host of the BBC’s The Great British Bake Off who’s also a massive motoring enthusiast. “I’ve got a real passion for cars and taking this trip with lots of other people who also clearly have a similar passion is going to be something really, really special. Just seeing all these veteran cars going through the heart of London is going to be spectacular.”

Hollywood has already had a brief chance to acquaint himself with the groundbreaking De Dion Bouton under the expert guidance of Ian Stansfield, senior engineer in the Beaulieu workshops. “It’s very different from today’s cars,” grinned Paul. “You control just about everything with your hands and that takes a bit of getting used to. There are no dials but I’m told it will do 30mph which is going to be hilarious!”

Other familiar faces joining Hollywood on the historic 60-mile route include Olympic legends Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Steve Redgrave, multiple world championship winning F1 team boss Ross Brawn and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason.

The Run is the highlight of a long weekend of motoring nostalgia in the capital, much of it free to view. Other events include the popular free Regent Street Motor Show (Saturday, 1 November) and the annual Bonhams Veteran Car auction (Friday 31 October).

For more details of the Veteran Car Run, the entries and the route visit www.veterancarrun.com.

NEWS FROM GOODWOOD - NOVEMBER BREAKFAST CLUB

We are following up our inaugural Hot-Hatch Sunday with another first: the debut of Vee-Power Sunday at Goodwood. One of the best aspects of this occasion will be the sheer variety on show, with so many models qualifying and motorbikes also playing a significant part in proceedings. Notable cars already on the list of entrants include a Morgan three-wheeler, a 1974 Australian Ford Falcon, a Ferrari Superamerica and a Maserati Merak SS. It promises to be quite a show. You don't have to have a Vee-powered vehicle to come to the event - thousands come just to enjoy the spectacle. But you do if you want to be a part of the display, limited space is available, so pre-register here and wait for your confirmation email. If accepted, please arrive at the Motor Circuit early on Sunday; gates open at 07:00, with vehicles for display on the grid encouraged to be in place by 08:00. If you are coming as a guest rather than putting your car on display, then you do not need to pre-register. We look forward to seeing you here.

VEE-POWER sunday, 2 NOVEMBER It’s not long to go until the inaugural Vee-Power Breakfast Club; with the Motor Circuit hosting everything from V-twin motorcycles to V16 Cadillacs and all manner of Ferraris. More Info

PRE-REGISTRATION If you have a car that fits the Vee-Power trend, then pre-register it and you could be in with a chance of having it displayed on the Motor Circuit. Key perks include admiring glances and nods of appreciation in your direction. Pre-register Here

VEE POWER: HESKETH 24 We sat down with Hesketh owner Paul Sleeman for a chat after sampling the ’24’ ourselves during which he outlined where he plans to take the company in the next few years. Read More

TICKETS GOING ON SALE: FESTIVAL OF SPEED You can get your hands on tickets for the 2015 Festival of Speed from 6 November 2014. For a highlights video from June's occasion and a provisional date of the 2015 event, click below. More Info

HOT-HATCH SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS GALLERY Modern era hot hatches, which for the purposes of this gallery are from roughly 2000 onwards, dominated the Hot-Hatch Breakfast Club. See some of the best examples of this type of car below. View gallery

TICKETS GOING ON SALE: GOODWOOD REVIVAL Tickets for the 2015 Revival are going on general sale on 6 November 2014. Click below for the provisional date of the 2015 event and a highlights video from this year's edition, including a rip-roaring TT. More Info