The Petrol Head’s Day Out

My inbox has been groaning recently with invites to MPH ‘07, that Petrol-Head annual treat presented by the Top Gear Mob. Worth a visit? Actually, yes it is.

I last went to the MPH show the year before last, taking an equally car-daft friend on his birthday. Is it a motor show in the true sense? No, not in the slightest. Yes, there are cars to see, new and classic, but that isn’t the point. It’s fun, as you would expect from the Top Gear crew, but it is about as serious as the show (thankfully, when I last went, not as silly as the last series of Top Gear - maybe they ran out of cars to be silly with, and ended up being silly for the sake of it half the time). The actual show is the star here, not the exhibitors.

There is the promise of the first public view in the UK of the gorgeous Aston Martin DBS, which probably makes the show worth the money all on its own. Also on offer is the new Jaguar XF. Time to decide for yourself if it looks as much like a Lexus as I think. The stunt driving is actually really impressive (I’m amazed the ‘elf ‘n safety police haven’t stepped in) and the show is a good 75 minutes of fun, for kids from 2 to 102.

And no, I’m not on a commission!