MPH Show

The MPH Show is a supercar motor show. It is held every year at both London Earls Court and Birmingham NEC. The show takes up either one or two halls at both venues. There are two parts to it. These parts being the Exhibition Part and the Main Show.

Exhibition Section

Visitors arrive and have the opportunity to take a look at exhibitors' stands. Many are there to advertise a product that they sell (for example there was a 'Shell' stand at MPH '06 advertising Shell V Power) There are also exhibition stands advertising car lease, whilst showing actual cars that can be leased at the stand. These are the likes of the Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, Ferrari F430 or the Aston Martin DBS V12.There are also a few car manufacturers exhibiting, although not to the scale of the 'Sunday Times Motor Show'. At MPH '06, Land Rover turned half of the hall into a simulated off road environment with ramps and severe slopes, in which people could drive on in the new Land Rover Discovery 3.

There are also VIP enclosures such as 'The Sunday Times' enclosure, or the 'Auto Express' enclosure in which people with VIP tickets can go and enjoy a glass of wine for example. Overall, the exhibition side of the show is very trade based and does not include many car manufacturers.

The Main Show

The main reason many go to MPH show is to see the spectacular 90 minute show. It takes up an entire hall and the audience sit in stadium like seating whilst watching the show. The show features stunt driving shows and a catwalk style presentation of new cars. Also included in the show are the usual Top Gear antics. At Mph '06 they placed James May in a shopping trolley and pushed him across the hall at 40mph by a Ford Mustang into 10 huge ten pin bowling skittles!

There are also spectacular 3D presentations during the show shown on the main screen. The audience dons 3D goggles and watches something in 3D. At MPH '07 a 3D Gatso Camera/Dragon of the future (created by London-based 3D experts Inition [http://www.inition.co.uk] ) battles it out with the Stig. At MPH '06 a 3D Hummer was dropped out of an aircraft and landed in the ocean! At Mph '05, a virtual 3D Apache helicopter on the screen shot at a Lotus Elise driven by Jeremy Clarkson. Pyrotechnics went off in the show to simulate the bullets hitting the floor. It is a very real experience right up to 3D missiles being shot at the audience!!!

The Mph '06, the show was presented by Jeremy Clarkson and James May (Top Gear Presenters) and Tiff Needell (Fifth Gear Presenter) who was drafted in to cover for Richard Hammond who could not make the show due to his crash. At Mph '07 the presenters were Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond (the three Top Gear presenters).

Exhibited cars in the Mph '06 show included the Caparo T1, Pagani Zonda F, Jaguar XKR, Lamborghini LP640, Bentley GTC, Koenigsegg CCX, Spyker C8, Spyker Peking-to-Paris, Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, Invicta, and the Porsche Cayenne Magnum black gunsmoke.

External links

* [http://www.mphshow.co.uk/ Official MPH 07 Site]
* [http://www.mphshow.co.uk/page.cfm/Action=ExhibList/t=m/goSection=17 MPH 07 Exhibitor List]
* [http://www.mphshow.co.uk/page.cfm/link=71/GoSection=14 MPH Theatrical Show]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk4XKyJ1dq4 MPH 06 Shopping Trolley Bowling]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReD_1n55p9I&mode=related&search= MPH 06 Car Football]