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British Motor Show: The Highlights
Auto Trader At 2.40 in the afternoon the show stood still as television’s Jason Dawe pulled the covers off two of the most modified motors at the show. The winners of Auto Trader’s Curves & Chrome competition were presented with their trophies and prizes totalling £8,000. Mike Jackson’s awesome Corsa which packed hydraulic suspension, 20 inch chrome alloys and a wild wide body kit was unveiled to the sound of dropping jaws. But for the first - and only time - today, there was a sharp intake of breath as the crowd caught a glimpse of Jamie Shaw’s achingly beautiful Porsche 911 GT2. Chrome wheels, massive brakes, Kevlar body panels and the coolest interior ever created made Jamie’s Porker the car of the show. But that wasn’t the end of it. Oh no.
Hyundai As we arrived at Hyundai’s stand, we were confronted with the disturbing sight of illusionist David Penn hacking at a woman with an electric saw. It was OK though - it was just a trick. But their sales pitch was aimed at the sales fleet rather than Fleet Street. Hyundai’s boss, Tony Whitehorn revealed its 2-litre diesel-powered Sonata could be had for just £19 a week if you’re lucky enough to have a company car. All Hyundais come an unparalleled 5-year warranty for vehicles which the company say encompass affordable quality. Kia Korean counterparts Kia unveiled their all-new Carens MPV, which offers practicality and the ability to comfortably seat seven. For the first time, Kia showed pictures of its new Focus rival. Called ED, it will be unveiled in September and Kia say it’ll take the fight to the big boys. One thing’s for sure; if it looks as good as the Cee’d concept car its based on, they could well be right. Land Rover Hot-footing it to Land Rover, we arrived too late to muscle in on the gaggle of photographers waiting to snap the all-new Freelander. Landy are modest about their new pint-sized off-roader; saying that its better in every way than its predecessor. It has to be, too. The Freelander is the best selling Land Rover ever and has been the best selling 4x4 every year since its launch in 1997. What’s more, it’s a totally British car - designed in Gaydon, Warwickshire and built in Hailwood on Merseyside. Jaguar The pace is hotting up for us journos. As soon as Land Rover finished, Jaguar kicked off next door with some serious razzmatazz. But we weren’t there for that. We wanted to see one of the show’s highlights - the new supercharged XJR. The Castle Bromwich-built sports GT looks sensational, and at £67,500 its good value compared to models from Aston Martin, Porsche and BMW. According to Jag’s chief, more than 1,000 orders had been placed; even before the car has been unveiled. They played up another video (like all the other manufacturers so far). It was all very rock ‘n’ roll, but we just want to drive it. Jaguar had news on its XJ saloon too, with the debut of the new XJR and a long wheelbase diesel version. Mazda No rest for the wicked, because the final press call for Ford’s group of brands began over at Mazda. Hot on the heels of the third-generation MX-5 comes the MX-5 Roadster-Coupe, which is the latest sportscar to get a folding hardtop. Mazda tell us the CC’s roof folds behind the seats, rather than taking up all the boot space. It also has the fastest roof in the world, which takes just 12 seconds to put up or take down. And to prove it, they had rigged a quick indoor shower, after a recorded weather forecast predicting storms. Oh, the irony - back in the real world, it's 32 degrees outside. Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep The American contingent pulled out the stops to show their new models to us first. Despite its new Sebring saloon being launched in It’s not a bad looking car either; more conservative than the gangster-influenced 300C but still with its own identity. Talking of individual looks; it was the European debut of Dodge Nitro. Looking like a Hummer that’s shrunk (possibly in Mazda’s impromptu thunderstorm), it's far from pretty. But if you want to get noticed, this is the SUV for you. Sitting alongside was the Caliber hatchback. Dodge has high hopes for this in the It has been a long day though… BMW First launch of the day was from BMW, outside in the sweltering heat. As helpful PR people dished out water to the assembled throng, BMW’s boss Dr Helmut Panke talked up BMW and its new products. But it was the new M6 Convertible that we’d come to see – although the Rolls Royce 101EX drop-top was sitting in the shadows. Photos of the M6 Convertible have been floating around for ages, but it looks even better in the flesh. The Porsche 911 rival features the same prodigious performance as its hard top brother, thanks to its 507bhp V10 engine. Vauxhall Escaping from the tropical heat, we stepped inside to see the new Corsa, and for 15 minutes, we were treated to a teenage dance troupe. These cool dudes are supposed to represent the Corsa’s typical buyer, y’see. So as the Vauxhall team dished out cans of Corsa juice energy drink, Vauxhall top brass waxed lyrical about the supermini’s finer points, before the wraps were finally pulled off. In terms of sales, the Corsa is probably the most important launch of the day, so we’re pleased to report that it looks pretty good. There will be a coupe-like three-door and a more conventional five-door hatch available from launch, and Vauxhall was making much of a FlexFix feature, which was a handy pop-out ‘drawer’ to carry two bicycles. |
Auto Trader had an incredible Mitsubishi Evo and a Toyota Supra flanking the stand, but even these were eclipsed by SQ Plus’s £250,000 Cadillac Escalade.Page 1
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