Our PH25 anniversary get-together last year was intended as a one-off - mainly because nobody celebrates their 26th birthday - and, frankly, we were so knackered from planning the thing that we weren’t sure if we had another one in us. But so overwhelming was the reception, with over 6,000 PHers in attendance and hundreds of the world’s finest cars on display, we knew deep down we had to make this a regular thing. Given that Saturday’s (sort of) inaugural Annual Service was a sellout, we probably made the right call.
Once again, we descended on Bicester Heritage. While last year’s theme shone a light on our favourite performance cars from the last 25 years, Annual Service brought together rare and exotic machinery from all corners of the globe. We split these up into different lawns scattered across the old RAF base, including an American area crammed full of hydrocarbon-hungry V8s, an Asian site featuring JDM rarities such as a Mitsubishi Evo II and even wild Chinese EVs like the monstrous Yangwang U8. Of course, the prescribed British area was well attended with all sorts of TVRs and Lotuseses, while the European area featured every Porsche imaginable and a home-brewed BMW E92 M3 Touring - and that’s barely scratching the surface.
The paddock, just outside Bicester’s ginormous old hanger, featured an incredible mix of machines ranging from a collector-grade Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo to a twin-engined Mini Clubman. Those who ventured inside the hanger were greeted by some of our readers’ cars, including TheVole’s subtly-tuned Volvo C30 T5 and Waitey’s 300,000+ mile Alpina D3 Touring, as well as an outlandish RWB Porsche and the exquisite green Nissan R33 GT-R with a tan leather interior and Nismo 400R-style wheels.
The hanger also played host to a number of exhibitors, with the CarFinance 247 stand featuring sim rigs and Adam Smalley’s McLaren 720S GT3 Evo that’s currently competing in the British GT championship, as well as Analogue Automotive’s Lotus Elise SuperSport and a stunning 964 Porsche 911 Carrera RS on display at Dream Car Giveaways. Then there’s MST, which chose Annual Service to launch its manic new Escort RS2000-based Evo-X. At this rate, we’ll be the next British Motor Show.
Anyway, one of our major new additions for Annual Service was a live stage, where a host of special guest stars from across the car world joined yours truly for a good chinwag. We kicked things off with Scott Mansell (aka Driver61 on YouTube) to talk about his outrageous plan to drive a formula car upside down in a purpose-built tunnel. Also from the YouTube world were Joe Achilles and Patrick Whelan to run us through their trip from Tangier, Morocco, to London on one tank of fuel in a brown (sorry, Cashmere) Volkswagen Passat diesel. It’s currently up for auction here on PH, with proceeds going to mental health charity Mind - so know that your bid goes towards a great cause.
Later on, Jonny Smith off of The Late Brake Show brought a never-before-seen Porsche 356 Speedster barn find that, aside from some mechanical tinkering to get it running, was in the same patina’d condition it was discovered in. We also had Dave Eaton and John Hartland on to talk about their Porsche 917K ‘Canoe’ recreation, which could also be found on the Michelin law in the centre of the site, while The Intercooler held a fascinating live podcast with special guest Max Girardo.
Finally, we brought along some of our auction cars to decorate the PistonHeads stand, with a BMW Z8 (video on that coming soon) taking centre stage alongside a marvellous 996 Porsche 911 Turbo and a retro-livered Alpine A110 Tour de Course. A few cars that had previously sold on our platform made a welcome appearance as well, including an original Audi R8 (with a gated manual) and a beautiful Series 2 Lotus Elan.
Above all, we had a great time chatting to so many of you on the merchandise stand. But if you were too busy drooling over the sea of exotica to stop by, we'd like to say thank you one and all, because without you PistonHeads wouldn’t be the thriving community that it is today. Bring on 2025, we say...
A special thanks goes out to the manufacturers, tuners, restomodders, importers, merchandisers, insurers, financiers and prize givers who helped make Annual Service a reality.
1 / 24
