Coventry can lay claim to being the closest the UK had to a Motorcity, a British version of Detroit. Over 50 car brands have been produced in the city, sadly in line with the decline of manufacturing Coventry, it is now just limited to one. However, the city is proud of its roots and has rebuilt itself after the decline of the industry. As celebration of the car, every June Coventry closes parts of the city centre including sections of the ring road to host Motofest.
Consisting of motorsport demonstrations, static displays, live music and anything else with a connection to Coventry and transport, the weekend is free to all and rates as a must attend event for any petrolhead. This year Citroen centenary plays a major part of the event, with over a hundred examples of the marque parading along a section of the ring road.
Triumph cars were produced in Canley, on the outskirts of the city. The brand offered a comprehensive range of cars and maintained their reputation for solid engineering and style right up to the demise of the brand.
Another brand with a proud Coventry history is Jaguar, the factory relocated to Solihull and Castle Bromich but still has connections to Coventry. One of the highlights of the day was watching a £1,000,000 replica XKSS power through the tunnels and rain, while there were dozens of static cars to be admired.
More local heroes, Hillman was part of the once massive Rootes concern and it’s factory in Ryton was was later used to produce Peugeots. Standards were connected to Triumph and made cars until the Leyland merger in 1963.
Plenty of tastefully modified cars to be admired. The pedestrianised city centre was opened up for displays, allowing the public to get up close to the cars.
Celebrating the companies centenary, Citroen used the Motofest to parade and display a wide and interesting selection of cars from the brand. The ring road was closed off to traffic to allow these cars to experience a unique experience.
These motorway rep competitors provided a trip to memory lane for the public who may not attend classic car shows. Both these Cavalier and Sierra were higher spec models, with plenty of bolt on goodies to widen the showroom appeal and bragging rights.
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