Motor show gets off to a busy start

April 25, 2015 0

The Rotary Club’s bi-annual Motor Show at Clickimin got off to a brisk start today, according to Rotary president Andrew Archer.

It's a dream for Luke Smith, 18, from Lerwick to have one of these as he sits behind the wheel of this Toyota GT 86 TRD race car. Photo : Jim Nicolson — It’s a dream for Luke Smith, 18, from Lerwick to have one of these as he sits behind the wheel of this Toyota GT 86 TRD race car. Photo : Jim Nicolson

In the afternoon Mr Archer said the centre, which has around 50 vehicles inside and more outside, was very busy with visitors chatting to all the dealers, which was a “very good sign”. About a thousand visitors are expected over the course of the weekend.

Mr Archer said this was the first time for many years that all local dealerships had been represented, with the vehicles, mainly cars, coming from 11 manufacturers.

One of the more unusual among them was the ATV Quadzilla, which Mr Archer described as “an amazing thing”, being able to reach up to 70 mph and go up a 60 degree slope.

The show has plenty to offer visitors, he said, with a chance to win a set of tyres and a trip to the British Touring Car Championships at Knockhill.

He also said there was a Michelin man walking around, amusing visitors.

The Rotary Club has a stand on which a Shelterbox has been set up. These boxes, costing £590 each, comprise a tent and emergency equipment for disaster relief, and Mr Archer said some of the money raised from the Motor Show would undoubtedly be sent to the Shelterbox charity. This is particularly relevant this weekend, he said, with the news of the earthquake in Nepal.

The motor show and the Ideal Homes exhibition are the Rotary Club’s biggest fund-raisers – the two shows together raise around £20,000.