Ultimate Stance 2015

The year is pretty much done in terms of major shows with the winter months rolling in or so I thought. After Players 9.0 which was in September there wasn't much after that but a show that has been talked about a lot is Ultimate Stance.

Organised by the same people behind Ultimate Dubs this event caters for all makes and models bringing together a whole host of cars from across the country. November is a pretty odd time to have a show of this sort of magnitude as many owners either put their cars away or swap their show wheels to winters. Unsurprisingly there are many owners out there who are dedicated to the car scene be it rain or shine and as the event is held primarily indoors it doesn't matter what is going on outside.

I've attended many shows over the years and its amazing how the approach to modifying a car has changed over the years. Gone are the Max Power days where it was about fitting a completely different bodykit to change the look, lairy paintwork, fitting the biggest wheels etc etc. We are now in the "Stance Era" which has become one of the fastest growing scenes out there right now. The basics apply in terms of modifying to stand out from the crowd but done in a way to enhance the look of the car. To achieve the stance look, a good set of wide wheels and a decent amount of lowering gets you basics of it, the lower the better. But its much more than that now as various exterior/interior touches and custom work go along with the car. Its the attention to detail that gives it the overall package

Waking up at the crack of dawn we set off for the 3 hour drive to Telford International Centre on quite a foggy morning. Many of the cars that were on show indoors had already arrived the day before which just left the club stands and various cars to display outside. There were many cars that arrived from up and down the country and from initial impressions it was looking promising.

With four big halls hosting all the cars I certainly wasn't disappointed. The quality of cars on show was nothing short of amazing and quite honestly I couldn't remember anything there that didn't deserve to be on show. There was a really good mix with a great vibe and atmosphere to boot. There was plenty of trade stands on display ranging from wheel companies, detailing/cleaning accessories, air ride suspension from the likes of Accuair, Airlift etc. clothes and so much more.

Some of the cars on display, Dips from Custom Cars on the Unity Media stand.

Honda S2000 on gloss bronze Work wheels.

Something you rarely see let alone with air ride a Lamborghini LP640 drew in large crowds.

 

Sumils stunning BMW E39 was on display and was a very popular car on the day.

Ricky's E36 vert stunning as always.

Classic Lotus Esprit, these are very sleek and low as standard but taken to a new level on air ride.

Wide body Liberty Walk Audi RS7 was one of my favourites.

Nissan 350z on a set of Cosmis Racing XT206R wheels combining concave and dish, one of my favourite wheels that I've seen this year.

Got to love the classic Mk2 VW golf simple, clean and well executed.

Another one that caught my attention was this E30 which many who read Performance BMW magazine will recognise as it was featured in Novembers issue and is an awesome car up close.

Edwards E36 M3 tourer rocking custom made 3 piece split wheels based on the TRX wheels made by CR Custom Wheels and also won best wheels.

Even outside there were some really good cars on display which easily could have made it inside the hall which just shows what the standard was like and certainly not easy for the organisers to try and choose the very best for the halls.

When I first heard through the circles how good this show really is, it has certainly lived up to the hype. I think by far this is probably the best show I've attended this year and in my view surpassing Players. The biggest draw for me is the fact that its indoors and even when you've seen everything you have a huge collection of cars to see outside. The organisers have done a brilliant job hosting this show and I can't wait to come again next year.

Picture coverage from the show can be found on our forum, www.pbmwforum.com and our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pbmwforum

Also check out our Instagram and follow us @pbmwforum

Words and photos by Richard Ansari.

BMW Festival at Gaydon 2015

August brings us to the BMW Festival at the Gaydon Heritage Museum. Those who don't know this is by far the biggest BMW gathering in the calendar bringing in various models from up and down the country.

Setting off in the morning and entering the grounds there is a few small changes with the addition of a drift area and a new building which is currently in the process of getting work done to house a selection of cars once its finished.

The layout was slightly different this year with some club stands being moved to different areas and the trade stands being situated elsewhere. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen but as the Museum is going through its changes each year it can't be easy for the organisers to plan where to put the amount of cars that attend.

There were a number of club stands in attendance which included Custom Cars, E36 Coupe Forum, Total M Cars, E30 Zone amongst others and of course the Club regions/registers.

Kicking off with the Custom Cars stand, some examples on display.

Nick Singh's E30 V8 chromie featured earlier this year in April's Performance BMW mag.

Neil's Z4 coupe on Rial Daytonas.

Nadeems M3 recently featured in Septembers Performance BMW Mag.

Sumil who used to own a grey E92 on hartges has a new project in this stunning E39 slammed on air. With Dips taking care of adding the custom touches that Sumil wanted, this car had a lot of attention on the day and rightly so. Some of the mods include a custom M3 bonnet bulge, CSL full length splitter blended into the front bumper a CSL style boot. Rolling on Hartge Design E's which are normally face mounted these have been custom machined to make them reverse mount to look like the Design C and is the only set of 19's like this in existence.

This E36 M3 tourer owned by Edward got quite a reaction also with its Cream exterior, air ride and that mega camber.

Bhups M52B28 E30 on polished Style 5 wheels.

Rare techno violet E46 M3.

E36 Coupe forum who had their stand opposite the Custom Cars had a good mix of cars.

This CSL "batmobile" was truly stunning. Peering through an open window and taking a look inside which was kept well it had that distinct classic car smell which I love.

E30 Zone had a fine display. My personal favourite was this particular twin turbo V8 on 17" hartge design C splits. The work gone into this car is incredible.

A few cars that caught my attention on the day.

Total M Cars stand occupying the spine road had a good selection of M cars on show.

Phil Robinson's E60 M5 who has started adding his own touch to this car looked great on its Forged R10 X-treme concave wheels.

"Bigfoot" E46 M3 on timeless AC Schnitzer type 3 racing wheels.

Paul's M3 rocking a set of Black ARC-8's looking every bit a stealth car.

Turnout wise although seemed slightly down from last year, I had pretty much spent the whole day admiring some great machines on display. The biggest let down being the lack of food stalls which hopefully next year the organisers can address. See you next year.

Picture coverage from the show can be found on our forum, www.pbmwforum.com and our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pbmwforum

Also check out our Instagram and follow us @pbmwforum

Words and photos by Richard Ansari.

Uxbridge Auto Show 2015

A bit late but better than never in July brings us to the next show in the calendar and is arguably the best one just for the amount of cars and variety on display ranging from old classics that are kept dryed stored under wraps to be let out and be admired to modern classics, right through to modified. There is no particular marque that is not welcome and only here will you see cars you probably have never seen or heard of.

The Uxbridge Auto Show is run by the Rotary Club and has been around since 1984 This show is non profit and has raised money for numerous charities over the years.

Taking place at the Middlesex Showground, the huge field is perfect to hold an event such as this.

The days leading up did seem a little dismal and on the morning of the show it wasn't looking promising. Luckily the rain which was meant to be forecast for the morning had not materialised and the sun had cracked open.

The Custom Cars stand was in full flow with a display of cars many known in the BM scene.

Dips bagged M3 with its flawless ruby red paintwork on custom copper OEM style 67 wheels.

Performance BMW magazine editor Liz's bagged E39 540 on Oz superleggera splits

Bentley Continental owned by Spike on custom Trafficstar DTX split wheels.

Chris's E46 Clubsport has gone through a revamp this year with a respray to freshen up the body and a CSL style bumper with a full length carbon splitter and sits pretty on its iForged splits finished in bronze.

Adil's E46 M3 in carbon black has gone through a full makeover courtesy of Dips at Custom Cars with various custom touches including a full carbon fibre GTR bonnet, CSL style carbon fibre boot lid colour coded with a carbon fade out, lowered on coilover and rolling on AC Schnitzer type 2 split wheels.

Three old school classic E30 M3's rolling on rare old school BBS RS, AC Schnitzer Type 1 and Hartge design C.

Rash brought along what is a rare sight on the roads nowadays with this mint E34 M5.

Total M Cars had a good stand with various M3's on display.

Louis E46 M3 with Hartge Design E split wheels:

David's E46 M3 rocking a rare set of Work VS-XX bromachers, AP racing calipers and bucket seats.

Tates stunning E92 was rocking his bronze track wheel setup which looks so much nicer than the AC schnitzer wheels. Please keep them on :-)

Bruno has upgraded in a major way from his "Big Black" E60 M5 to the new M4 coupe which has been released this year. Bruno will no doubt put his own stamp on this car and will be one to look out for.

On to other cars at the show:

Andy's E36 touring looks bang on with M Parallels.

Stunning wide body golf.

AC Cobra replica caught many admirers and enthusiasts alike.

Old school Jaguar.

Unique custom car on display by the London Motor Museum.

Although looking like it has come from the 1930's this car is actually a kit car and features all the classic vintage styling cues from that period.

Classic 60's Mustang.

This custom Ford Anglia is one such example of quirky and something you won't see at any show. Looking like something out of Mad Max with a redesigned body it even featured a BMW 318is engine on display.

With impressive cars on show there is a wide range of trade stands ranging from old classic parts, car cleaning products and plenty of food stalls to keep you watered and fed.

This show is a worthy day out for the family and plenty to keep everyone entertained. Whether your a classic car fan to a Ford nut or just appreciate cars as a whole, mark this one in your calendar for next year.

Details can be found at http://www.uxbridgeautoshow.com/

Picture coverage from the show can be found on our forum, www.pbmwforum.com and our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pbmwforum

Also check out our Instagram and follow us @pbmwforum

Words and photos by Richard Ansari.