MPH Show
The MPH Show was a supercar motor show. It was held every year at both London Earls Court and Birmingham NEC. The show took up either one or two halls at both venues, and there were usually two parts to it: the Exhibition and the Main Show. From 2011 the show was rebranded and relaunched as Top Gear Live, tying together its close links to the popular TV show. Top Gear Live has since expanded, and now is used by BBC Worldwide as a brand of touring stadium 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.
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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 40 mph by a Ford Mustang into 10 huge ten pin bowling skittles!
There are also spectacular 3D presentations during the show. At Mph '05, a virtual and life-size 3D Apache helicopter shot at a real Lotus Elise as it raced around the arena. Pyrotechnics added live explosions to the experience, simulating missile hits and Ricocheting gunfire, leaving audiences marveling in the high-octane and explosive thrill of it all. It was that successful, it made a return appreance in 2006. Also at MPH '06 a 3D Hummer was dropped out of an aircraft, shot down by a Tornado jet and landed in pieces the ocean! The 3D helicopter sequence and the 3D Hummer destruction sequence were both conceived and created by 3D director Julian Napier, who was first to introduce a 3D element to the show and who also co-wrote and co-created the original ninety-minute show in 2005, alongside John Napier and Andy Wilman. In 2009 Julian wrote and directed the London Eye 4D Experience, which is the UK's first ever live-action 4D experience and is in permanent residence at The London Eye. At MPH '07 a 3D Gatso Camera/Dragon of the future (created by London-based 3D experts Inition ) battles it out with the Stig.
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
- Official MPH 07 Site
- MPH 07 Exhibitor List
- MPH Theatrical Show
- MPH 06 Shopping Trolley Bowling
- MPH 06 Car Football