You will have noticed as you drove through the gates this morning that things are rapidly changing here at Bicester Motion.
Daniel Geoghegan Chief Executive
The new HQ of YASA, an electric motor pioneer owned by Mercedes-Benz, is well underway at The Ranges, the location known until recently as the Innovation Quarter. By January’s Scramble, the building will be taking shape and this time next year YASA will be preparing to move in ready for 2026.
The Scramble, meanwhile, remains the eclectic, irreverent mix it always was, and it will remain so, too. It is a celebration of all things motoring, whether century-old Austin Seven and Bentley or the very latest Polestar, Alpine and BMW – regardless of what powers the wheels.
In fact, this universal appreciation of mobility is what is shaping Bicester Motion and a key reason why the ‘quarters’ have been rechristened. The Experience Quarter is now The Rushes, recalling the stream that crossed the site there during the earliest days of RAF Bicester and the high-octane nature of what is to come in a few short years. The Wilderness Quarter has been renamed The Reserve.
Thank you for joining us on this journey – whether you’re new to it and today is your first Scramble, or whether you were among the few here at the first Scramble more than a decade ago. I hope you enjoy the day.
YourWagen photo fame
Today’s Scramble marks the 2024 culmination of Volkswagen’s YourWagen initiative, and you can share a unique experience with 100 fellow owners by the Northern Tanker Sheds.
An array of VWs will be in the Paddock awaiting their turn in the limelight before each is papped by almost 50 cameras for a 180º photo of owner and car.
The people are just as important as the car; after all Volkswagen means ‘the people’s car’ and has been etched onto the back of every single model since the 1930s.
Since the summer, Volkswagen has been telling some of the heartwarming stories that connect the marque to people with a series of films – some of the stars of the campaign will be returning to the spotlight today.
Elsewhere, in what is rapidly becoming the generations line-up, Volkswagen is marking half a century of the Golf with a line-up of every iteration into Innovation@Scramble. The Golf that was most ahead of its time, the all-electric, Mk2based CityStromer, can be found among the hatchbacks of the central display.
Sunbeam’s
centenary
A century ago Malcolm Campbell would still have been basking in the glow of his first official Land Speed Record. He’d previously gone faster than anyone in history, but never in a way for it to count as a true record – until Thursday 25 September 1924, at Pendine Sands in Wales.
Today, the very car he drove is on display by the Station Chaplain’s Fire Party Hut, 100 years and 10 days since the historic achievement.
The V12 350HP Sunbeam resides at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, and the car’s history can be discovered in Building 88 thanks to the museum.
It is the original Bluebird, the moniker Campbell bestowed on his record-breaking vehicles in honour of a turn-of-thecentury play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck. The Sunbeam already had an enviable history, having been
driven by Jean Chassagne, René Thomas and Kenelm Lee Guinness, who set a 133.75mph record in the car in 1922.
Campbell raised that bar by 13 mph even though the weather was against him and the sand was so soft in places that it slowed him down. He and the 350HP went quicker still the following July, breaking the 150 mph barrier on land for the first time in history. He set nine Land Speed Records in all, becoming the first to beat 250 mph and 300 mph.
Visit Building 88 at 11am to hear the V12 fire up.
JOIN SCRAMBLERS
• Scramble and save: get 10% off your ticket
• Buy your Scramble passes a week before anyone else
• Attend every Assembly – for free
• Book up to four additional Assembly tickets
• Grab a coffee on us at every Scramble and Assembly
• Take a break in the exclusive Orchard Enclosure
• Be part of it: join the member-only display ballot
• Beat the queues with priority parking at the Scramble
• Meet your heroes with member-exclusive events
• Spend and save at selected specialists and partners
• Savour the moment with your event photos
• We’ll donate £5 to StarterMotor on your behalf
• Receive an exclusive member pack and tag
Birthday display for Eagle’s E-types
Jaguar E-type specialist Eagle is celebrating four decades of dominance in 2024, having been launched by Henry Pearman into humble beginnings in 1984. The firm’s E-type based restorations and developments have been lauded by Top Gear, spawning four separate models and an order book bursting at the seams.
A display stretching into double figures celebrates Eagle’s ruby anniversary next door to Motor Spirit, which is run by Henry’s Historic and Classic Vehicles Alliance colleague Guy Lachlan.
Drive new Polestar 3 and 4 today
The Polestar 3 and 4 make their debut on the Scramble test-drive fleet today, giving you the chance to get behind the wheel of the very latest cars the Swedish manufacturer has to offer. Both match SUV space with sports car feel, maintaining the brand’s commitment to performance.
Test drives can be booked by visiting the team by Building 147 at Gate 1 or by visiting the Space in the Command Works, where you’ll find a Polestar 2, 3 and 4 – plus churros.
Super Touring
BMW publicly took the wraps off the new M5 Touring at Monterey Car Week and it makes one of its first UK appearances today.
Not only that, it’s a family gathering outside the Guard House by Gate 1 because
there’s an example of every generation of M5 flanking the new model. In a show of just how well BMW maintains its heritage collection, each was driven in and parked into place.
The data of this third generation of M5 Touring is stunning. The M HYBRID powertrain delivers 727bhp and a whopping 738lb ft of torque, with 0-60 mph taking just 3.6 seconds. Limited to 155mph, the M Drivers Package unlocks another 34 mph for the autobahn.
Get up close to the new M5 Touring by Building 89.
Blue Diamond’s golden display
Blue Diamond Riley Services is celebrating its half century in 2024, marked by a gathering of classic British metal on its front lawn.
One of the earliest Specialists to join Bicester Heritage, a variety of marques and models have been through the doors of The Main Stores before heading to all corners of the world.
You’ll find a host of Rileys, Triumphs and more looking resplendent in road and rally spec by Gate 1.
Champagne with a view
How do you improve a vintage double decker bus? Add Pommery Champagne, of course. Climb aboard the Champagne Pommery bus on the Main Drive and treat yourself to a glass and enjoy the finest view in the house overlooking the displays. Other drinks will be available, including gin from the awardwinning onsite distillery Sky Wave Gin.
AROUND THE SCRAMBLE
Drive a little Landy
The Mini Landers return to the Scramble, having had a star turn at the April event when Ant Anstead squeezed in to have a drive of the small-scale off-roaders. The course can be found behind the old Station Offices on Southern Avenue, leading into Innovation@Scramble in the Command Works. Anyone aged between five and 10 years old can have a go, head to Southern Avenue to find out more.
Become a Reserve Warden
Keep your eyes peeled for little fluffy critters as you wander the avenues and your youngsters can become honorary Reserve Wardens for the day. Head to Western Avenue and pick up a scavenger hunt sheet and some Scramblers binoculars, start the search and collect the reward once you’re done.
I300’s dynamic debut
Zapp EV is showcasing the i300 high-performance stepthrough electric bike at its Experiential Centre in Building 149 in the Command Works.
Dynamic demonstrations will be running all day, offering a firsthand look at its cuttingedge design, unmatched balance and fast-charging capabilities, and exclusive trials can be booked via the digital station.
Plus, grab a free coffee while you take in the innovative twowheeled commuter EV.
Ex-McRae machine at MSUK
Motorsport UK is celebrating the diverse national and international rallying scene at its HQ, with the ‘Car in the Lobby’ spot claimed by a Subaru Impreza driven by the great Colin McRae. Visit Pendine to see another former McRae car.
Meanwhile Racing Pride returns with a space for members of the LGBTQ+ community in motorsport to network, as well as a series of talks taking by its team
Hatchback /ˈhætʃˌbæk/ noun a large rear door, hinged at the top and incorporating the rear window to create a large opening for loading and unloading.
than a hatch. Saloons? Confined by the rear bulkhead. Split tailgate? Twice the doors to open. Include the window into the door to the boot and the opportunities are endless.
The function works perfectly for a variety of applications, too, and, in a similar way to the Winter Wagons display of January 2022, they come in all shapes and sizes.
Exactly where the hatch first, well, hatched is open to conjecture but Citroën stakes the strongest claim with its Commerciale variant of the Traction Avant. The innovative model’s engine being at the front allowed for a vast tophinged rear door, though only before the outbreak of the
Second World War; post-war Commerciales came with a split tailgate.
Still, the cast had been set and the automotive hatch opened only to close again briefly.
Curiously, it wasn’t a little city car that took up the mantle next but instead a pair of similarly timed British sports cars built just a year and a few miles apart.
First came the Aston Martin DB2/4, launched at Earls Court in 1953, and the covers came off the AC Aceca in the impressive building 12 months later. The similarities were obvious, not least at the hatched back. Nor is the DB2/4 easy to discern
from its DB2 predecessor at a glance, but notably the small letterbox bootlid had grown to include the window, and the sporting hatch was born.
The Aceca, meanwhile, was a coupé version of the Ace, which had been launched at that same Earls Court show as the DB2/4.
It was via France that the convenience moved to the family car in the 1960s, initially with the Renault R4.
Though officially never called a hatchback, it laid down the blueprint and is archetypally a hatch. The slightly larger and slightly newer R16 took the hatchback name to the masses for the first time and the French maker has hardly looked back. Renault has, in recent decades at least, gone toe to toe with Ford as king of the hatch.
Examples from both marques are on show by Building 123
today, from brace of rare Ford Escorts to R4 and R16, plus Fiestas and more.
Others have threatened that dominance, not least Volkswagen. Its Golf, arguably the most famous hatch of all, is represented by the fascinating CityStromer. Proof that electric cars are nothing new, it was created in the 1970s.
Some took on cult herodom
dominance, including the Daihatsu Cuore Avanzato TR-XX R4 that looks straight out of Gran Turismo and the Mazda MX-3 with its curved rear glass hatch. Audi’s hatches have never really topped the Quattro but in the early 2010s the A1 had a go. Just 19 examples came to the UK, one of which is among the hatches at the centre of the venue.
Vauxhall inevitably joined the fray but before the familiar Astra came the hairy-chested Chevette. It was built to go racing and rallying, and into the hedges that lined b-roads…
The Mini is the elephant in the room. A hatch would only have added a few extra litres of space to such a well packaged little genius, but Radford had a go and BMC did too. The conglomerate’s prototype, the 9X, is on display courtesy of the British Motor Museum as a what-might-have-been.
But one thing is for sure: defining a hatch is not an open and shut case.
Visit Scramblers on the Main Drive for stickers, Bicester Heritage caps, memberships and more!
Find the hidden word in the answers below and collect your prize from
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