British Motor Show - Farnborough 

Report and Images by Craig Whitaker

5 December 2022 

I took a visit to the British Motor Show this summer as I haven't been to a car show in a while and I thought it would be a good idea to take a trip down to Hampshire in the sunshine and have a nice relaxing day looking around all the stands and exhibitions on display.

The British Motor Show took place at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre next to the airfield last year after a 13-year hiatus with more than 45,000 visitors over the weekend.

This year it was to be held again at this same venue between 18-21 August but with an additional hall, more electric vehicles, and a further dedicated Motorsport Hall along with an outdoor arena run by Bridgestone and Kwikfit.

Over the past year or so there have been numerous challenges with new car productions, but the show has got bigger and better and with more manufacturers this year. Alongside the usual car stands there were test drives, Petrolheadism, world record attempts, Supercar Paddock,  A Cinch live arena, National Geographic live stage, even a tech theatre and electric cars galore with a dedicated Electric Motor Show 'Elmo' hall.

Presenters included Mike Brewer, Iwan Thomas, Abi Stephens, Tim & Fuzz and Mike Rutherford along with even more special guests including celebrities Tiff Needel, Yianni, Ash Sutton and the Stig to name a few! So ,there was plenty to look around and it was all headlined and sponsored by Cinch.

The day was looking very hot and humid so I wanted to get there early and be walking around the cars before it got too busy.

I headed down in the car and having never been there before, was pleased to see it was well sign posted from the main roads from where I was directed to the park and ride area of grass fields which were turned into car parks full of 1000's of other cars a little distance away near the army barracks.

However, plenty of others also had the same idea to get there early so I followed everyone else, guided by the marshals. 

It was too far to walk to the venue but there were free shuttle buses taking you to the main car park every few minutes. These were full already so after a little wait I got on the next bus and headed towards the queue outside where the Top Gear 'Stig' scanned your ticket.

It didn't open until exactly 9am so the queue snaked all the way around metal barriers and everyone had to stand still together for what seemed like an age even if it was only thirty minutes or so, but eventually we all poured in through the gates as it opened.

I knew it would be very busy, so I didn't take all my camera equipment and instead just went to enjoy the day and walk around taking handheld snapshots with my Nikon DSLR and kit lens when and where I could. With an event like this being so busy with people swarming around the cars and stands I knew from experience it is very difficult to capture images without avoiding others in the way of your photo opportunities, so I ended up using the crowds and atmosphere as part of the photo.

You soon forget how hot it was back then in the summer now sitting here in the cold, but looking through the photos you can't but help notice the dry dusty yellow grass. This reminded me again how unusually hot and dry this summer was especially as we are not used to the 40 degrees it reached in July. This show was towards the end of August and it had cooled a little but not by much and was still very warm.



The venue itself was huge. I didn't know where to go first so I just started at the main hall and then went outside where the view was slightly elevated so you could see most of the site. It is situated next to the airport and runways so I often saw planes take off and land too. There is quite a distance between some halls so be prepared for lots of walking back and forth if you realised you had missed something in the programme. It was very well signposted and lots of marshals and staff were on hand to help if required, so not a problem. 

If you didn't fancy walking throughout the day there were small luggage buggies to take you to the next hall if you required it. I have enclosed a plan so you can see how it was all laid out and it will most likely be similar next year.

The areas that I enjoyed most were the main display halls which had a good range of new future model cars and information, including quite a few electric vehicles, petrol classic cars, race cars and classic cars with electric engines! 

I was going to start listing all my favourite exhibitors but the list was too long, and believe me, there was plenty of choice of cars which ever your preference. In addition,  seeing all the supercars lined up in the paddock was a great sight and to be able to get up close to them and watch them on the driving arena was really fun.

As a big motorsport enthusiast I really enjoyed the motorsports display hall and arena areas of the show. Motorsport UK, marshals and staff were all there giving careers advice too. It was mostly cars and I didn't see many motor bikes at all.  There were smoke drifting shows and many race cars I love, so that made my day.

I also enjoyed seeing the BTCC cars on display. The Napa Racing BTCC Ford Focus ST car of Ashley Sutton was there, along with some classic BTTC historic cars so it was great getting so close to them and looking inside.

The emergency services were in attendance too, giving out advice and information, but it was the British Army and their tanks which were extremely popular with the families and children climbing them. There was live music and lots to do around the site, including bouncy castles and the popular simulations and E sport video games.

At lunch time the food tables and eating areas were absolutely rammed full and there was nowhere to sit, so I was glad I was hungry earlier and found a food stall earlier in the day.

The afternoon passed very quickly as I was looking at all the cars and trying to negotiate around the crowds, and as the day went on it got busier and busier but I eventually made my way around the whole venue back to the entrance. I waited for the shuttle bus and then had to find my car in fields full of cars and so many more fields than there were in the early morning!

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