Autosport International 2014
The Autosport International motor show runs like a well oiled machine, and the 2014 show has not disappointed. The NEC in Birmingham was packed to the rafters with everything automotive for a massive 4 day motoring event.
It was open to the general public at 9am on 11th January 2014, the crowds gathered in their hundreds, excited and keen to get into the first major motoring event of the year. And waiting inside were displays of pretty much every manufacture’s latest cars.
Feature Cars
There were a number of special feature cars that stuck out from the event for me:
Zenos Cars put on show their stylish E10 production road going sports car. The ex-Caterham chief’s new 300bhp-per-tonne car is now on sale for £24,995, or £28,995 if you opt for the special Launch Edition.
The road version of Sin Cars’ mighty R1 is a really good looking car and an absolute beast when fired up. The R1 has a 6.2-litre V8 engine, putting out around 450bhp. Rosen Daskalov, the founder of Sin Cars, says that the car will do 186mph at top speed and 0-60mph in less than 5 seconds, I would think it is considerably less. I saw this car debut in its first GT cup race at Silverstone earlier in the year, and I believe that Sin Cars will go on to do great things with the R1.
Next up is the Oakley Design Ferrari FF, which is carbon fibre crazy. New carbon fibre front splitter and rear diffuser, carbon fibre side skirts, and a bare carbon fiber panel stretching across the body from one taillight to the other.
Oakley Design also had a customised Lamborghini Aventador. The car featured a carbon fiber rear wing, new door sill plaques, a custom interior, as well as gloss black rear wheels.
Adrenaline Rush
On the way from the show to the live arena, car fans had the chance to take a guest ride in a Caterham. A professional driver would push the Caterham to it’s limits drifting it around the circuit. Unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to have ago, maybe next time.
Live Action Arena
We went into the second live show of the day. We were amazed by the petrol fueled show that was put on for us. We were nicely placed at the front the press area with our cameras out ready to capture the action the best we could. The first car drifted past, and to our surprise showered us with rubber, fresh off it’s tyres. You couldn’t/shouldn’t really get any closer than this.
The first highlight of the Show was Shane Lynch’s JapSpeed Drift Team showing off their perfect drifting skills to the packed 5000 capacity arena.
Next up, AutoCar’s cars of the year were paraded around the arena. This included the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S, Porsche 911 GT3, and the Porsche Cayman S.
Straight after the car of the year parade, we were onto the madness. Cars from many different forms of racing were put on show. Races took place around the arena, which on the shiny floor meant that there was an awful lot of sideways action going on. Every race was captivating.
The biggest surprise of the event was a race made up of cars constructed of two front ends of cars which were attached in the middle. At the end of the race the cars split into two, going there separate ways and then danced around the arena to everyone’s amusement.
There was a whole host of celebrities spotted throughout the day including Max Chilton, Martin Brundle, Shane Lynch, and Jason Plato. Here is Motor Verso’s new number one Fan Shane Lynch – great driving Shane!
Our newest fan! Thanks Shane.
Out of the spot light
Away from the main stands there was still many gems to be found, including rally car displays, hyper car royalty, car heroes from decades passed, sports cars of the future, and trade stands to do with anything even slightly motoring related.
One of my favorite spots of the day was seeing the box below, which enabled people to send their get well cards to Schumacher, a real nice touch. Good on you Autosport.
Autosport International 2014 Summary
Overall, what a day! Autosport International is Europe’s largest motor show, and as such there were hundreds of expensive and rare cars within touching distance, all in one place. Throughout the day everywhere you looked there was something different going on. Every type of petrolhead would be fulfilled by this event; it had so much to offer. If you haven’t made it to this year’s event, make sure you get down there next year.
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Author: Paul Hadley
