What Is The Future of the Scramble?
Discussion
Just landed back from today's Scramble (I've been to nearly all of them in the past few years), and can't shake the feeling that the magic has gone, not just from the Scramble, but the site at large. There's still some awesome bits - the Kingsbury guys are always great, the Pendine Blast House is always superb and the site of three Miuras was *chefs kiss*
Obviously, if you had a great day, I'm not here to take that away from you or persuade you otherwise, but wanted to see if others felt the same way!
- Volume of "Commercial" or "Sponsor" areas seems to have jumped. Between Rollhard, HVCA, Maserati, a very weird trade area, Top Gear, The Intercooler, etc, it feels less and less like being welcomed into an active community of interesting businesses based on site, and more and more like any other motor show, just with a nicer setting.
- The Specialists on site have changed enormously - where before there were workshops aplenty (and The Road Rat!), the buildings now seem to be occupied by automotive adjacent events and training firms. Again, just fewer organic things to look at by the nature of their businesses.
- Cars on display seemed biased towards Porsche and BMW - of 8-10 cars on the stand, Top Gear had multiple Porsche derivatives from Theon and Singer, as well as a GT3 Touring and GT3 "mit wing." The magic of previous Scrambles was the legitimately unusual, rare, underexposed stuff that hyper-passionate owners had brought along - the lack of obvious curation around the site and theming made it feel more organic. At times it felt like someone had salt bae'd 718 GT4s from a great height across the Technical Site
- The cost keeps going up - October's I think has now broken the £30 barrier. For a morning event with no actual moving vehicles, most of which rely on the efforts of owners to bring. I know they would argue there are now more planned "moments", but honestly watching a podcast being recorded (of which there seemed to be many) isn't really why many of us get up at the crack of whatever on a Sunday morning.
- Content creators are now everywhere - pushing past people to get shots, complaining when people walk through their "scene."
- Its probably not a great sign for any show when the car park feels more dynamic, varied and intriguing than the event itself...South Side Hustle now seems to have captured the early magic the Scramble had.
Would love the collective's thoughts - is the Scramble already done? Have I missed the point? Or is there another event I should check out?
Obviously, if you had a great day, I'm not here to take that away from you or persuade you otherwise, but wanted to see if others felt the same way!
- Volume of "Commercial" or "Sponsor" areas seems to have jumped. Between Rollhard, HVCA, Maserati, a very weird trade area, Top Gear, The Intercooler, etc, it feels less and less like being welcomed into an active community of interesting businesses based on site, and more and more like any other motor show, just with a nicer setting.
- The Specialists on site have changed enormously - where before there were workshops aplenty (and The Road Rat!), the buildings now seem to be occupied by automotive adjacent events and training firms. Again, just fewer organic things to look at by the nature of their businesses.
- Cars on display seemed biased towards Porsche and BMW - of 8-10 cars on the stand, Top Gear had multiple Porsche derivatives from Theon and Singer, as well as a GT3 Touring and GT3 "mit wing." The magic of previous Scrambles was the legitimately unusual, rare, underexposed stuff that hyper-passionate owners had brought along - the lack of obvious curation around the site and theming made it feel more organic. At times it felt like someone had salt bae'd 718 GT4s from a great height across the Technical Site
- The cost keeps going up - October's I think has now broken the £30 barrier. For a morning event with no actual moving vehicles, most of which rely on the efforts of owners to bring. I know they would argue there are now more planned "moments", but honestly watching a podcast being recorded (of which there seemed to be many) isn't really why many of us get up at the crack of whatever on a Sunday morning.
- Content creators are now everywhere - pushing past people to get shots, complaining when people walk through their "scene."
- Its probably not a great sign for any show when the car park feels more dynamic, varied and intriguing than the event itself...South Side Hustle now seems to have captured the early magic the Scramble had.
Would love the collective's thoughts - is the Scramble already done? Have I missed the point? Or is there another event I should check out?
CronxDriveBy said:
For a morning event with no actual moving vehicles, most of which rely on the efforts of owners to bring.
This is what has stopped me coming for the past few years now. As you also say, the car park is usually more interesting.The Pistonheads event is decent but that's also because the collection is MUCH more eclectic
I think it’s got to the point where huge number of tickets sell out but what are the regular parking punters coming to see on the technical site? It used to be a huge eclectic bunch of cars in every cranny but now feels quite sparse and all the good stuff was today in the car parks before the tech site with the moving of the super cars as top gear must have demanded prime spot. I have displayed 9/10 times in recent years on the tech site which prob tells you not many people apply now as it’s limited to Pegasus members anyway, and most happy on the lawns so can leave about 12ish. I still love the day, don’t get me wrong but August piston heads use of the site felt better
I’ll sound dumb here, although I have been for the past 43 years so…?
I hope it doesn’t change, at least not too much anyway. Turn up alone, turn up with friends, turn up with family. Stroll about the site and the car park, trip over a Diablo and land on a Datsun, geek out massively with the owner of a Honda Kei car, and say “I’ve not seen one of those in years” a few hundred times. Stroke someone else’s dog, drink some coffee as you all talk absolute nonsense in the sun. Always a cracking day out, and long may it remain so.
I hope it doesn’t change, at least not too much anyway. Turn up alone, turn up with friends, turn up with family. Stroll about the site and the car park, trip over a Diablo and land on a Datsun, geek out massively with the owner of a Honda Kei car, and say “I’ve not seen one of those in years” a few hundred times. Stroke someone else’s dog, drink some coffee as you all talk absolute nonsense in the sun. Always a cracking day out, and long may it remain so.
It was my first scramble and while I can't compare to the previous ones but I really enjoyed it. I did probably spend 50% of my time walking around the car park though, while there was some nice cars inside it was the car park that had some real gems. I'm looking forward to PH Annual Service there.
Tend to at agree with the thoughts of the OP. Been going for some years now. Pegasus member.
Got off to a bad start after arriving late due to closure of the A41. Alright, that’s not Bicester Motion’s fault but many of us travel from far and wide and the traffic issues and general long queues into the event do detract from what should be an enjoyable day for all.
After a couple of circuits of the infield, I got put off by the crowds and the long queues for overpriced coffee and headed into the car park, where there was so much to see as always and ended up spending 75% of my time there. Fewer crowds, more interesting cars and more relaxing. You even got to speak to some owners. How many events are there where the ‘side show’ is more interesting than the main event?
I have already booked to go in October but I won’t be bothering to renew my Pegasus membership - it simply isn’t value for money - a few pounds off your entry fee and a free coffee if you can be bothered to queue for an eternity.
A shame really - Bicester Motion, perhaps driven by overwhelming demand for tickets, are’t really listening to the regular visitors and they seem determined to water down what was originally a highly original and engaging event.
Got off to a bad start after arriving late due to closure of the A41. Alright, that’s not Bicester Motion’s fault but many of us travel from far and wide and the traffic issues and general long queues into the event do detract from what should be an enjoyable day for all.
After a couple of circuits of the infield, I got put off by the crowds and the long queues for overpriced coffee and headed into the car park, where there was so much to see as always and ended up spending 75% of my time there. Fewer crowds, more interesting cars and more relaxing. You even got to speak to some owners. How many events are there where the ‘side show’ is more interesting than the main event?
I have already booked to go in October but I won’t be bothering to renew my Pegasus membership - it simply isn’t value for money - a few pounds off your entry fee and a free coffee if you can be bothered to queue for an eternity.
A shame really - Bicester Motion, perhaps driven by overwhelming demand for tickets, are’t really listening to the regular visitors and they seem determined to water down what was originally a highly original and engaging event.
Argybargy said:
I have already booked to go in October but I won t be bothering to renew my Pegasus membership - it simply isn t value for money - a few pounds off your entry fee and a free coffee if you can be bothered to queue for an eternity.
We're in almost identical boats. I'll go in October, but, it'll likely be the last one for a bit and the renewal will likely go the same way. 
I'd been excited for Scramble, but the queue to get in was laced with more frustration than anticipation... motorists of all flavours were letting their feelings be known, it was tense.
We parked up and got a coffee and a bacon roll each, and I found myself questioning whether for two people should that *really* have been more than 25 quid?
My overall impression was that this "sold out" event, once the preserve of early morning similarly-minded car geeks was now a "bucket list" item for many, and in broadening the appeal (I am not the target audience for pedal planes or miniature Land Rovers) the organisers have significantly weakened the mixture.
Yes, there were some gems on display, but the real joy of Scramble, the "I have never seen..." or the "I haven't seen one of those since forever" moments were fewer by far. Spaces where carefree custodians casually parked up incredible and singularly individual cars were increasingly taken over by companies, brands and the intentionally placed... The serendipity was diminished.
For the first time, I'm ambivalent about whether I secure tickets for the October running of Scramble.
We parked up and got a coffee and a bacon roll each, and I found myself questioning whether for two people should that *really* have been more than 25 quid?
My overall impression was that this "sold out" event, once the preserve of early morning similarly-minded car geeks was now a "bucket list" item for many, and in broadening the appeal (I am not the target audience for pedal planes or miniature Land Rovers) the organisers have significantly weakened the mixture.
Yes, there were some gems on display, but the real joy of Scramble, the "I have never seen..." or the "I haven't seen one of those since forever" moments were fewer by far. Spaces where carefree custodians casually parked up incredible and singularly individual cars were increasingly taken over by companies, brands and the intentionally placed... The serendipity was diminished.
For the first time, I'm ambivalent about whether I secure tickets for the October running of Scramble.
CronxDriveBy said:
- The Specialists on site have changed enormously - where before there were workshops aplenty (and The Road Rat!), the buildings now seem to be occupied by automotive adjacent events and training firms. Again, just fewer organic things to look at by the nature of their businesses.
Fully agree, has The Road Rat moved? I must admit, walked past their place today and didn't see them there... 
Have been going for some years now and I do feel its getting less special, still great mix of cars and people but inside the the space seems less filled than previous events.
Even things like the ex WRC Prodrive scoobys that were hiding away in a hanger I remember one of the scrambles those cars were all outside not being behind a barrier
Less business advertising too which is a shame. Some of those units used to be some great automotive business with cool stuff in now more basic and not as interesting.
I remember going previous years, if you had a cooler car the parking staff would separate you from the every day kinda cars and put you where the scramblers would be if you got there early enough
The car park it self is always worth checking out you dont know what is lurking in there.
Will I buy Oct scramble ticket tomorrow....probably
Even things like the ex WRC Prodrive scoobys that were hiding away in a hanger I remember one of the scrambles those cars were all outside not being behind a barrier
Less business advertising too which is a shame. Some of those units used to be some great automotive business with cool stuff in now more basic and not as interesting.
I remember going previous years, if you had a cooler car the parking staff would separate you from the every day kinda cars and put you where the scramblers would be if you got there early enough
The car park it self is always worth checking out you dont know what is lurking in there.
Will I buy Oct scramble ticket tomorrow....probably
I gave up on it about 4 years ago.
I started going when it was £5 a person for a club stand ticket. The workshops were really interesting to walk around too.
Just feel like it’s a cash cow now rather then an enthusiast day like it used to be. Sounds like it’s got worse.
I don’t miss it one bit.
I started going when it was £5 a person for a club stand ticket. The workshops were really interesting to walk around too.
Just feel like it’s a cash cow now rather then an enthusiast day like it used to be. Sounds like it’s got worse.
I don’t miss it one bit.
CronxDriveBy said:
- The cost keeps going up - October's I think has now broken the £30 barrier. For a morning event with no actual moving vehicles, most of which rely on the efforts of owners to bring. I know they would argue there are now more planned "moments", but honestly watching a podcast being recorded (of which there seemed to be many) isn't really why many of us get up at the crack of whatever on a Sunday morning.
- Content creators are now everywhere - pushing past people to get shots, complaining when people walk through their "scene."
- Its probably not a great sign for any show when the car park feels more dynamic, varied and intriguing than the event itself...South Side Hustle now seems to have captured the early magic the Scramble had.
Would love the collective's thoughts - is the Scramble already done? Have I missed the point? Or is there another event I should check out?
These 3 are the points that stood out for me. - Content creators are now everywhere - pushing past people to get shots, complaining when people walk through their "scene."
- Its probably not a great sign for any show when the car park feels more dynamic, varied and intriguing than the event itself...South Side Hustle now seems to have captured the early magic the Scramble had.
Would love the collective's thoughts - is the Scramble already done? Have I missed the point? Or is there another event I should check out?
The content creators (not journalists) being the most self-important people around, I'm looking at you Adam C.
I see really enjoy FoS although it's slowly moving that way, but you can't beat the quality of moving displays there.
I'm tempted by Festival of the Unexceptional as I also thought the car park was a real highlight of today's event
CronxDriveBy said:
fire3500 said:
Fully agree, has The Road Rat moved? I must admit, walked past their place today and didn't see them there...
Believe they re now down in Winchester, a real shame as they tended to corral a great exhibit around cars from recent or upcoming issues. I’ve only been going recently so can’t comment too much on previous years, however based on my limited visits I thought this was better than before. I liked the stand that had all the GTi’s and the Muiras were lovely. I didn’t pay too much attention to the likes of Maserati and Bentley as you can always pop into a show room. Car park was full of lovely stuff. I remember going once and there was an auto jumble in the big hanger this it was a bit meh…
That said I will probably not return until next year.
That said I will probably not return until next year.
ThisInJapanese said:
These 3 are the points that stood out for me.
The content creators (not journalists) being the most self-important people around, I'm looking at you Adam C.
I see really enjoy FoS although it's slowly moving that way, but you can't beat the quality of moving displays there.
I'm tempted by Festival of the Unexceptional as I also thought the car park was a real highlight of today's event
I have only been to a single FoTU, in 2024. Was very good and a nice day out. Rustival sort of appeals, but I'm not sure. The content creators (not journalists) being the most self-important people around, I'm looking at you Adam C.
I see really enjoy FoS although it's slowly moving that way, but you can't beat the quality of moving displays there.
I'm tempted by Festival of the Unexceptional as I also thought the car park was a real highlight of today's event
Grassroots things that are good get popular, and then more people want in, and then money shows up and the marketing kicks in. I guess that's the lifecycle of events. Things like Dirtquake, BugJam, RunToTheSun have all over the years gone that way...
I guess that a Sunday morning blast over some favourite roads, followed by a cuppa and some questionable meat in some questionable bread remains the reliable route to motoring joy.
I do share a similar sentiment I think to a lot of posters here- this was my 4th Scramble (my first being Oct '24) and although possibly the most enjoyable, the infield was probably the least impressive. It felt emptier than in previous years and there's a lot of cars which I've seen 3 or 4 times at the Scramble now and have lost their lustre, as well as the corporate stands... admittedly there were a few highlights, I always love seeing all the pre-war stuff and having 4 Miura's in one spot is pretty special. I still had a fantastic morning out though, as many have said due to the strength of the car park- the Pegasus Member's section and pre-2001 were full of some pretty special cars- an F40 casually turned up at one point which is pretty bloody cool. But I think that's a fortuitous side effect of the weather today having been so good, and I do agree with the principle that paying 30 quid for an event where the best part is the car park (full of people who've also paid 30 quid to bring their own nice cars) is a bit ridiculous...
Traffic management definitely seemed to be an issue today too, I got there for pretty much 9am on the dot and had the biggest queue I've had, yet it felt a lot quieter than previous years until 1030 or so... (likely due to the closure of the A41 a few others have mentioned). There's much worse queues to be stuck in though I guess!
Traffic management definitely seemed to be an issue today too, I got there for pretty much 9am on the dot and had the biggest queue I've had, yet it felt a lot quieter than previous years until 1030 or so... (likely due to the closure of the A41 a few others have mentioned). There's much worse queues to be stuck in though I guess!
Edited by Sofa on Sunday 26th April 22:04
ThisInJapanese said:
These 3 are the points that stood out for me.
The content creators (not journalists) being the most self-important people around, I'm looking at you Adam C.
I see really enjoy FoS although it's slowly moving that way, but you can't beat the quality of moving displays there.
I'm tempted by Festival of the Unexceptional as I also thought the car park was a real highlight of today's event
I was actually stood next to him today while he was doing his schtick. Accurate assessment above, and the reason I referenced it! If anything, made more galling by him having a vehicle on the display lawns - so in a way, Bicester tacitly validating him and his style, thereby encouraging others. The content creators (not journalists) being the most self-important people around, I'm looking at you Adam C.
I see really enjoy FoS although it's slowly moving that way, but you can't beat the quality of moving displays there.
I'm tempted by Festival of the Unexceptional as I also thought the car park was a real highlight of today's event
My Dad and I chatted about Goodwood/FoS - it is expensive, but, they are so up front about it, its really hard to argue against, particularly given the consistently excellent level of execution and "once in a lifetime" nature of it all (Rossi in a 787B stands out for me.)
FotU might be the next one for me then!
Gassing Station | Events & Meetings | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff