British International Motor Show
The British International Motor Show was held regularly between 1903 and 2008, initially in London at Crystal Palace, Olympia and then Earl's Court before moving to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in 1976 where it stayed until 2004. It then returned to London for 2006 and 2008 at the new location of ExCeL. The 2010 and 2012 shows were subsequently cancelled. The event is recognised by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles.
History
The first British Motor Show organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) was held at Crystal Palace, London in 1903, the same year that the speed limit was raised from 14 miles per hour (23 km/h) to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) by the Motor Car Act 1903 and two years before the formation of the The Automobile Association. After the 1903 event it moved to Olympia in London, where it was held for the next 32 years before moving to Earl's Court, London from 1937 until 1976, except for the period of World War II during which time where were no shows.
From 1978, until 2004, it was held every second year at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, with the 2004 event being held in May, rather than the traditional October, to avoid a clash with the Paris Motor Show.[1]
The July 2006, and July 2008 shows returned in ExCeL, London, prior to the cancellation of the 2010[2] and 2012[3] shows, due to the recession. Motorexpo, the World's largest free to visit motor show started in 1996 and is held annually at Canary Wharf in London, Brookfield Place in New York and Brookfield Place/First Canadian Place in Toronto. London Motorfair, an alternative London show was held at Earls Court biannually from 1977 to 1999.
In December 2014, it was announced by Prince Michael of Kent, the cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, that the London Motor Show will return in May 2016, to Battersea Park.
Show details
Detailed information for shows in later years.
| Date | Description | Introduction | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 27 October – 6 November 1948 Earls Court, London. Being the first motor show since the end of World War II there were a large number of significant car launches, and received 562,954 visitors. Vehicle introductions:[4] | Austin A70 Hampshire Austin A90 Atlantic Hillman Minx Lagonda 2.6 Jaguar XK120 Morris Oxford MO Morris Six MS Singer SM1500 Sunbeam-Talbot 80/Sunbeam-Talbot 90 Vauxhall Velox Vauxhall Wyvern Wolseley 4/50 Wolseley 6/80 |
|
| 1949 | Wednesday September 28th to 8th October 1949 Saturday 34th International Motor Show, Earls Court[5] |
Austin A40 Sports[6]
|
|
| 1951 | 19 October 1951 – 29 October 1952 Earls Court, London. | Austin A30 | |
| 1956 | 17 October 1956 – 27 October 1956 Earls Court, London. | Volvo Amazon Berkeley Cars |
|
| 1957 | 16 October 1956 – 26 October 1957 Earls Court, London. | Lotus Elite | |
| 1959 | 21 October 1959 – 31 October 1959 Earls Court, London. | 1959 Cadillac range Daimler Majestic Major Ford Anglia 105E Jaguar Mark 2 Jaguar Mark IX Mini Riley 4 |
 Jaguar Mark 2 |
| 1960 | October 1960 Earls Court, London. | Humber Super Snipe Series III – Britain's first car with twin headlights Lea-Francis Lynx[8] |
 Lea-Francis Lynx |
| 1962 | 17 October 1962 – 27 October 1962 Earls Court, London. | Ford Cortina Mark I Triumph Spitfire |
 Ford Contina Mark 1 |
| 1966 | 19 October 1966 – 29 October 1966 Earls Court, London. | Aston Martin DB6 Volante – debut Ford Cortina Mark II[9] Hillman Hunter[9] Jensen FF – AWD super car launched. The world's first production car with anti-lock brakes.[10] Vauxhall Viva HB[9] |
|
| 1967 | 18 October 1967 – 28 October 1967 Earls Court, London. For the first time since 1948, 1967 saw an increase in the normal daily admission charge which was raised from 5 shillings (GBP 0.25) to 7 shillings and 6 (old) pence (GBP 0.375).[11] | Aston Martin DBS[11] Austin/Morris Mini Mk2[12] Triumph Herald 13/60[11] NSU Ro 80[11] Simca 1100[11] Vauxhall Victor (FD)[13] |
|
| 1968 | 16 October 1968 – 26 October 1968 Earls Court, London. The opening ceremony was performed by Princess Alexandra at 10 am on Wednesday 16 October.[14] | Jaguar XJ6[14] Austin 3-litre[14] (relaunch) Marcos 3 litre[15] |
 Jaguar XJ6 |
| 1974 | 16 October 1974 – 26 October 1974 Earls Court, London. The Citroën CX had been launched a few weeks earlier at the Paris Motor Show and was scheduled for inclusion in the 1974 London show. It was withdrawn at the eleventh hour, possibly because the manufacturers found themselves unable to schedule rhd production of the car till well into 1975.[16] The model nevertheless went on to win first place with motoring journalists voting for the European Car of the Year a few months later. | Aston Martin Lagonda (long wheel-base, four-door version of the Aston Martin V8)[17] Lotus Esprit (Worldwide launch)[18] Lotus Eclat (2+2) (Worldwide launch)[18] Porsche 930 Turbo Panther De Ville (Worldwide launch, for the basic model it was one of the most expensive cars being displayed at the time) Toyota 1100 (UK launch of the Toyota Publica) |
|
Birmingham years
| Date | Description | Introduction | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The International Motor Show made its first appearance at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, and attracted record crowds of 908,194.[19] | ||
| 1982 | The International Motor Show again appeared at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham during October of this year.[20] | The two most notable new launches were the Audi 100 and Ford Sierra. Other new cars included the Austin Ambassador, and MG Metro.[21][22] | |
| 1984 | 20 October 1984 – 28 October 1984 NEC, Birmingham. 17–19 October were reserved for professional visitors. The show saw a total of 696,183 visitors this year.[23] | Austin Montego Estate – the Design Council award winning family estate from Austin Rover[24] Reliant Scimitar SS1 Dutton Rico[25] |
|
| 1986 | 18 October −26 October 1986 NEC, Birmingham. | Jaguar XJ (XJ40) Renault GTA in RHD, British debut[26] |
|
| 1988 | 22 October 1988 – 30 October 1988 NEC, Birmingham. | Jaguar XJ220 – debut of Jaguar's 220 mph (350 km/h) all wheel drive (AWD) super car concept vehicle MG Maestro Turbo[27] Middlebridge Scimitar[28] |
|
| 1998 | 22 October to 1 November 1998 at the NEC, Birmingham. Saw the launch of two critical saloons from British car manufacturers. The then BMW boss Bernd Pischetsrieder made an impromptu speech about the future of the Rover Longbridge plant which would then lead to the sell of the brand in 2000 and its collapse in 2005. | Rover 75 – debut of the first (and last) Rover with the help of BMW Jaguar S-Type – all new executive car from Jaguar, retro in design like the Rover. |
|
| 2000 | The International Motor Show remained in the Birmingham NEC during October. Honda made the news in claiming that it would have fuel cell cars on sale by 2003.[29] | ||
| 2002 | The 2002 show at the NEC, Birmingham featured the international | Bentley Continental GT MG SV TVR T350[30] |
|
| 2004 | In 2004 the show, branded The Sunday Times Motorshow Live, was held from 27 May – 6 June, instead of the usual October. | ||
| 2006 | The 2006 British Motor Show was held in July at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London's Docklands. It featured a nightly post-show rock music festival called Dock Rock. | Alfa Romeo Spider (UK introduction)Aston Martin Rapide (UK introduction) Bentley Continental Flying Spur Mulliner Driving Specification BMW M6 Convertible Chevrolet Captiva (UK introduction) Chrysler Sebring sedan (Europe introduction) Dodge Nitro (Europe introduction) Ford Focus coupe-convertible (UK introduction) Honda Civic 3-door hatchback
|
 Rolls-Royce 101EX |
| 2008 | The 2008 British International Motor Show was held at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London's Docklands from 23 July – 3 August and was the last regular British International Motorshow. The SMMT promoted an all-new showcase of the latest electric vehicle models. "The Electric Vehicle Village" brought together one of the largest collections of zero-emissions vehicles ever seen in the UK, with a display of more than 20 vehicles which are propelled solely by battery power.[31] The motor show displayed a number of high-priced, high-performance electric cars such as the Lightning GT and Tesla Roadster. | Alfa Romeo Mito (international and UK introduction)
Concept Cars:
|
 Land Rover LRX |
The 2006 show also had concerts by:
- 19 July, A-Ha
- 20 July, Van Morrison
- 21 July, UB40
- 22 July, Roxy Music
- 24 July, Simple Minds
- 26 July, Katherine Jenkins with the National Symphony Orchestra of London
- 27 July, Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to British International Motor Show. |
- British motor industry
References and notes
- SMMT history including that of the motor show
- "British International Motor Show". Pietro Frua. – Source of show locations and dates
- ↑ Jorn Madslien (24 May 2004). "Struggling motorshow in spring debut". BBC News.
- ↑ Julian Rendell (27 January 2009). "British motor show in crisis". Autocar.
- ↑ Tim Pollard (14 October 2010). "British motor show axed for good?". Car.
- ↑ Telegraph 25 July 2008
- ↑ Display advertisement, page 5, Gloucestershire Echo, 24th September 1949
- ↑ "Motoring Memories: Austin A40 Sports, 1951–1953". Canadian Driver, 15 June 2007, Bill Vance.
- ↑ A Record Motor Show. The Times, Monday, Sep 26, 1949; pg. 2; Issue 51496
- ↑ Lawrence, Mike (1991). A to Z of Sports Cars. Bideford, Devon: Bay View Books. p. 180. ISBN 1-870979-81-8.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Basil Cardew (Ed.). Daily Express Review of the 1966 Motor Show. Beaverbrook Newspapers Ltd, London.
- ↑ Keith Anderson. Jensen. Haynes Publishing Group. ISBN 0-85429-682-4.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "Visitors' Guide: Hours and Charges; Opening Day; How to Get There (i.e. concerning the London Motor Show)". Autocar. 127 (nbr 3739): page 59. 12 October 1967.
- ↑ "The cars : Mini development history". AR Online. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ↑ "About the FD Victor, Ventora and VX4/90". Vauxhall VX4/90 Drivers' Club. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Earls Court '68: Hours and Charges". Autocar. 129 (nbr 3791): page 52. 10 October 1968.
- ↑ Braunschweig, Robert et al., eds. (12 March 1970). "Automobil Revue '70" (in German and French) 65. Berne, Switzerland: Hallwag AG. p. 370.
- ↑ "World-wide comment: No Citroën CX at earls Court". Autocar: page 18. 12 October 1974.
- ↑ Autocar Motor Show Supplement 19 October 1974
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Brief Lotus History". The Espirit Factfile.
- ↑ Car Magazine 19 March 2009
- ↑
- ↑ 1982 in motoring#United Kingdom
- ↑
- ↑ "Près de 700.000 visiteurs à Birmingham" [Nearly 700,000 visitors to Birmingham]. Transporama (in French) (Edegem, Belgium) 4 (31): 11. December–January 1984/1985. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Story of the Montego". Maestro & Montego Owners Club.
- ↑ Mastrostefano, Raffaele, ed. (1985). Quattroruote: Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1985 (in Italian). Milano: Editoriale Domus S.p.A. p. 264. ISBN 88-7212-012-8.
- ↑ Liszewski, Nicolas. "Alpine V6 Turbo Mille Miles". Le site des amateurs et passionnés des Alpine Renault GTA (in French). Retrieved 2014-09-08.
- ↑ Büschi, Hans-Ulrich, ed. (9 March 1989). Automobil Revue 1989 (in German and French) 84. Berne, Switzerland: Hallwag AG. p. 400. ISBN 3-444-00482-6.
- ↑ Automobil Revue 1989, p. 401
- ↑ The Guardian 12 November 2000
- ↑ What Car? 22 October 2002
- ↑ British Motor Show "Plugs In" To Demand For Electric Vehicles
- ↑ Automóvil Panamericano, No. 163 (15 July 2008), p.20
External links
- The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – Official website of the organisers
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