Photos by Dave Brassington (For hi resolution copies click here)
We took a quick trip round this year’s AIS to bring you the latest news and exciting exhibits..
1. FIA World Championship rally fans were treated to four new unveils for the new 2018 season : the M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris WRC and Citroën Racing C3 WRC.
2. For us, the Ferrari showcase is probably the most jaw dropping exhibit and likely to pull in the crowds at the weekend. Showcasing the range of cars available through Corse Clienti, Ferrari’s exclusive client racing programme, the centrepiece being Ferrari’s 2017 Ferrari F1 car, SF70H.
The SF70H joins the 2004 championship-winning F2004, 2017 LMGTE Pro World Endurance Championship-winning AF Corse 488 GTE, FXX-K Evo and the 488 Challenge cars.
3. Ginetta took the wraps off its LMP1 challenger that will race in the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours this year. Called the G60-LT-P1, it’s Ginetta’s “most advanced car in the company’s history”, producing 650bhp from its 3.4-litre V6 Mecachrome engine and has a maximum speed of 225mph.
4. Invictus Games Racing also launched their striking matt grey Jaguar F-Type SVR. A collaboration between James Holder, Co-Founder of the successful clothing brand Superdry, and the Invictus Games Foundation, will see a select group of wounded, injured and sick (WIS) veterans of the British Armed Forces compete in the 2018 British GT Championship as part of a new motor racing team in specially-designed Jaguar sports cars.
5. In the Live Action Arena, Billy Monger is partnering Terry Grant and the Mission Motorsport team performing a series of nail-biting stunts across all four days at Autosport International.
6. On entry to the show you won’t be able to miss the square Motorsport News stand marking 60 years of the British Touring Car Championship with a fabulous line-up of 10 cars spanning the decades including Ken Clarke’s Hepolite yellow Rover SD1. As featured in full in our yearbook.
7. If you find the Porsche Club Championship stand tucked in the corner, you will be treated to getting up close and personal to the Porsche LMP1 car as well as their usual line-up of Porsche club racers.
8. On the engineering side of the show – check out the super CNC Heads Zakspeed Capri if you haven’t seen it before, it is a bit of weapon.
9. The integrated Performance Car Show saw the reveal of the specially-commissioned Liberty Walk EU Lamborghini Aventador, with its bespoke body kit and specially tuned 6.5L V12 engine producing 800bhp.( If Lambo’s float your boat)
10. Adrian Flux were on show in the middle of the action with their Jason Plato sponsored Subaru BTCC car on show and new for 2018 are offering a range of team and vehicle insurance cover for motorsport teams and privateers. Click here for details.
To sum up, without the usual Silverstone Classic historic racing corner, we found the show slightly lacking on the historic motorsport side. With no one place where we the oldies can congregate for a catch-up except the bar! But the stalwarts HSCC and CSCC were still in residence and we found ourselves welcome in both camps. Of course Coys Auction is on hand to offer some interesting classics too. Their catalogue can be found here
However there is still lots of very cool supercars and F1 cars to see and the enthusiasts won’t be disappointed.
No sign of Pistonhead’s in the Performance Car Show but in their place is a sizeable Social Influencer Hangout, lead by popular supercar vlogger Shmee150, with his Mercedes AMG GT R. Shmee150 is entertaining crowds throughout the weekend in the Live Action Arena.
Stage interviews can be caught up with here:
