Summer in the UK is a bustling time for car enthusiasts, with numerous event happening each weekend. With so many options, creating a standout event isn’t easy.
The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham is no stranger to automotive events, from classic car shows to the renowned Autosport International. Recently, however, it hosted Gravity, organised by the team at Slammed UK, to bring modified vehicles to the Midlands.
Running a car show on a UK bank holiday weekend can be a big risk. While visitors have an extra day to attend, there are major music festivals, pub gardens, and other attractions going on. Yet, judging by Gravity’s large number of attendees this was not an issue for the organisers.
And why would it be – Gravity attracts the best of the best. Along with the show aspect, the event features an outdoor drift arena, a strong influencer presence, live BMX displays, lowrider demos and more.
But as someone who has attended more car events than I could even begin to count, I can attest that it’s not just the attractions that matter; it’s an event’s vibe. This quality, often discussed but hard to define, is how an event makes us feel.
The Slammed UK team nailed it. There was a buzz in the air, amplified by live music that, in my opinion, adds a special touch to any car show.
Along with all the local cars on show, Gravity 2024 drew in a number of builds from abroad, two of which in particular caught my attention.
The first was the Daihatsu Hijet built by Nightride in Poland. ‘Kevin’ is powered by a Yamaha Fazer 600 motorcycle engine and driveline – right down to its chain drive. You can read more about this build here.
The second was Chip Moosa’s Mercedes-Benz W108 280SE ‘Vato’ from Chicano’s Customs in South Africa. This car, which has been extensively rebuilt, features a dark green metallic paint job, a suede interior, air suspension, and wire wheels. Both vehicles earned Top 5 spots at Gravity 2024’s awards ceremony.
These are just a couple of highlights from hundreds of impressive builds. Gravity was one of those rare shows where I struggled to find a car I didn’t like. From E36 BMWs to Lamborghinis, there was something for everyone.
The live drifting demo featured many well-known names, including James Deane in his four-rotor FD3S Mazda RX-7, Becky Evans in her Nissan Silvia S15, Steve ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni in his R35 GT-R, and the Crewsade drift team with drivers like George Barclay in his 1,000hp 2JZ-swapped BMW M2 Eurofighter.
Many enthusiasts chose to spend their August bank holiday at Gravity 2024; a testament to how great this event truly is.
Ben Crosby
Instagram: niftyhaus
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Great article and an even better event to attend, you captured it beautifully
I glad you liked it!
That's it!!! I'm coming over to England next summer!! How many car shows do you guts have?!!! That old skool MB is sweet! And the pink, 964...I want it! And the lime green RWB!..send it to my house now!!(lol)
Honestly David, it genuinely is difficult sometimes to choose which show’s to go to, there are quite a few to choose from, you should definitely come to the UK to visit a few. And agreed, I wouldn’t need much persuasion to have any of the cars featured, in fact why not have them all!!!
It's been so long BMW's and Audi's have become the new ricer poseur mobiles, that it's crazy they aren't all ideally cheap drift missiles yet, and mindblowing people still actually spend over $50k for what new uncompetitive/boring/fugly crap has been stamped out - but the vintage BMW/Audi keeps on getting better! The ideas and styles and builds of the e30's and S1's, etc, are the REAL keepers pf the heritage flame, and that's gotta be celebrated, slammed or not.
Cheers to the keepers! Maybe one day these germans will fire everyone and return to making driving machines that lead/benchmark their segments rather than terribly copy South Koreans and keep trying to camel iconic models to appease the talentless teen and the noob that wants to upgrade their Kia. Hoping these move unto Teslas and BYDs, etc, and leave the Heritage brands be able to refocus and build what the aftermarket is pumping out brilliantly.
The older cars are lovely and definitely a good few on display and definitely should be celebrated. I’m sure the next generation will be saying the same thing over the F and G series BMWs - they seem to get better with age!
These long exposure shots are really nice!!
Thanks Steve! Glad you liked them!
Rubystone red makes me happy. Mind blowing that they would ever release that color, and even more impressive that dentists would ever spec it. But i'm glad that they did
I completely agree, never thought I'd say I'd want a Porsche or quite frankly any car in that colour but I have now made it my life goal because I love it so much!
Love the red kei van/truck!