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Sunday, 20th of July 2008
Wow! That's about the only word I'd use to describe
this year's Scottish Modified Car Show. Previously
known as the Fast & Modified show (but now under
new management hence the name change), the SMC
Show promised people a show with a difference
and that promise was delivered.
First up a bit of disclosure, after leaving F&M mag two
years ago I was back involved with the running of this
year's show but I'm not being biased when I say that it
was head and shoulders above previous years in terms of
quality, content and atmosphere - the whole team behind
putting the show on really excelled and the visitors
appreciated it!
One of the main complaints you get at shows is "its the same old same old" and that's been true in the past. There aren't a million radically styled cars leaving Ecosse, Kenny Laird, Calder Coach Crafts and other bodyshops on a weekly basis. Things have slowed right down and that's across the board, from the heavy horsepower to the big installs. What I planned to do with this year's show was bring together a mix of ALL styles of car and have them all displayed together. It was tricky to do but by sticking to the plan the show ended up having just the right mix of modified hatchbacks (Ecosse, Kenny Laird, CARS), serious performance monsters (Keith Cowie, Baz / Titan, Envy Performance) plus a healthy dose of classic and retro motors too. Something for everyone and laid out in a way that people could appreciate them all mixed together.
With the show starting as usual at 10 bells the main hall started to fill up on cue. Taking pride of place at the entrance was Keith Cowie's world record holding Nissan Skyline. Just back from RB Motorsport only a week ago and sporting a new baby blue and matt black colour scheme it was positioned to be the first car people saw as they entered the hall. With equally impressive cars lining the Top 50 display area (which truth be told had been measured out a little bit larger than expected) visitors were immediately thrown into the thick of things and by watching the expressions on their faces the cars didn't fail to impress.
Mark Burns was back again to compere the show along with his team of merry helpers and did a first class job of keeping the entire day moving from competition to live event to stunt show. The main staging area was moved this year into the middle of the hall which was a welcome change and added to the whole different feel the show had this year. Fraz and the ViBE crew once again supported the Scottish scene where other English companies decided to stay at home and armed with a duet of new ViBE lovelies his Bass Tunnel and demo cars were well attended all day long. Local DJ team and promoters Stereofunk were on hand to provide the beats on the ViBE CDJ's and also played their part on the indoor stage keeping punters ear drums in motion throughout the day.
Inside the main hall for the first time at the show was the Globe Of Death. An awesome sight to behold where two stunt bikers would ride their bikes at up to 40mph inside a steel mesh ball, overcoming the laws of gravity while some scared member of the public (me at one point) was locked inside. This was something new and a welcome change from the very popular but seen all too often Russ Swift and Terry Grant shows. It was touches like this that made the show feel completely new and exciting. The Globe of Death wasn't the only attraction when it came to stunts, with EDC drift legends out on track slamming it sideways throughout the day, more motor bike madness with a collection of stunt riders and quads flying through the air there was always something on the go to keep people entertained.
No car show would be complete without some form of music and this year the music partners were Rezerection, a blast from the past that was recently reintroduced to the Scottish clubbing public with sell out events at Room At The Top. Taking full control of the outdoor stage they had a healthy line up of up and coming as well as established DJ's and MC's with the show stopper being a live performance by Scottish techno legends TTF. Yup, you read that right. The biggest Scottish dance band were kicking it at this year's show and the crowd went absolutely nuts for it! I've never seen the front of the main outdoor stage so filled with people over the past 5 years. Playing hits like New Emotion, U4iA and their biggest smash hit to date Real Love the crowds soaked it up from start to finish. It was a massive gamble trying something so different at a car show but it paid off big time!
Scary and Jules from FastCar made the trip from down south to promote the magazine along with local work experience boy Steve McCann. Emma Jo and Kelly-Ann were the official FC eye candy and helped sell a bucket load of FastCar magazines on the day while Jules pitched in and judged the prize giving for Car Of The Show, Best Club Stands and the rest of the SMC trophies. Winners on the day included Ecosse and Inti's orange and black 206, Nick's 206, Warren's 406 and Keith Cowie's Skyline. EdinburghCruise picked up the silverware for the best outdoor stand and Strathycruise won the best indoor stand thanks to a lot of hard work between Fly and Lee sorting out the cars and the Strathy PR team.
The Sun newspaper were also around on the day covering the event for their weekly motoring section. Sun editor Phil Lanning included a column just days before the show giving it the thumbs up and Sun babes Siobhan and Courtney were on duty all day posing for the camera and smiling from start to finish.
By the time the show finished and all the prizes were given out you'd have expected everyone to be dying to get home but with such a buzz at the show even though the organisers were dead on their feet having worked tirelessly from the Thursday onward (remember the show needs to be setup and organised days before it opens to the public) they were still smiling. The only complaint I had about the show was there was too much to see and do, I didn't get a chance to get outdoors to check out the club stands - the only time I managed out into the open was to see TTF on stage. 2008 will be remembered as a great year for Scottish car enthusiasts and I know that the organisers are already planning next year's show to be even bigger and better than this one. But what are we going to do with ourselves for the next 362 days?
*** Hey there, remember that this report is only one part of a 2 part gallery so be sure to check out the OTHER 500 photos in the other gallery ***
Here is the high-def video from the event for you to watch too. Click the HD button if your PC cant handle it, and the if it can - the full screen button is right beside it!
Enjoy!
Words: Rikki Photos: Rikki, EK Andy, Brian @ FastPix, Lee Tobin, Rab88, DrT
Rikki 5 August 2008, 8:44 pm Video from this event is now available to watch in high def at :
