Coventry MotoFest
More than 1000 classics, many with local connections, celebrate city’s Moto-Fest
Everything from a Monte Carlo-winning Mini to a Daihatsu Move – plus more than 1000 other classics – took over Coventry city centre for the extraordinary two-day Moto-Fest. Whether you are a fan of vintage Standards, or Nissan Skylines ( legally) drifting around an under-flyover car park, there was something to suit most tastes.
Every corner of the city centre was taken up by a display of some sort, from Lady Godiva (in statue form) casting a critical eye over cars in Broadgate, to a contrasting display of Jaguar XJS and Nissan Pulsars in Millennium Place outside the Coventry Motor Museum.
The British Motor Museum brought along the aforementioned 1964 Monte Carlo-winning Mini, and Jaguar Heritage brought along many of the classics from its own collection.
The Midlands Vehicle Preservation Society managed a fine display of members’ cars and there was a gathering of Standards outside the Flying Standard (of course!) pub.
In contrast there was a 1997 Daihatsu Move, which enthusiastic owner, student Cam Hans-Brooker, reckons is a classic. ‘ When new it was the slowest accelerating car in Britain and there are only 230 still on our roads today,’ he explains.
Both days saw a parade of classics around the city, including a section of closed off dual carriageway, on part of which a slalom had been constructed. No-one will ever forget seeing this being negotiated by a BL Wedge, complete with caravan!
Moto-Fest has been running since 2014. Spokesman Neil Campbell says: ‘ We think we’ve done better than the 120,000 visitors we had last year. We hope that seeing all these classics might persuade some young people to go for a career in engineering.’
’No-one will forget the BL Wedge and caravan negotiating the event’s slalom’