Bicester Scramble Turns A UK Airbase Into The Latest Must-Go Car Show

Forbes

28-04-2025

Scramble turns the Bicester Motion industrial estate into a truly eclectic car show.
Car people like to get up early on Sunday mornings. Escaping the city before traffic even has a chance to stir, they hit the open road and head to a car gathering that, in the UK at least, is usually hosted at an old World War II airfield.
Last Sunday was the turn of the Bicester Scramble to lure in car fans from all over the country. The Scramble is held a handful of times per year at Bicester Heritage, a business park geared towards the car industry – complete with small test track, workshops, a functioning airfield and plenty of extras under construction.
Bicester is quickly becoming the heart of the UK's 'Motorsport Valley', where in close proximity you'll find most of the world's Formula One teams, plus the factories of JLR and Aston Martin, and facilities belonging to everyone from Rimac to Polestar. And while Bicester Heritage acts as a quiet and calm but highly productive group of car-adjacent businesses during the week, the Scramble sees thousands of gearheads descend.
The former WW2 airbase is home to dozens of companies that work in the UK automotive and aviation ... More industries.
Even the drive up from London is an event in itself. I was overtaken by a beautiful Porsche 356 Speedster as I stopped for fuel, and later spotted a pre-war Bentley and a Lotus Esprit on the highway, and was left slack-jawed by a million-dollar Porsche Carrera GT, albeit headed the other way.
These are the mornings car lovers live for. The 06:00 Sunday alarm might be unpleasant, but with the sun burning off the early morning mist, the WhatsApp group chat buzzing with plans to meet up with friends, and supercar owners clubs gathering at nearby service stations for a coffee, it's impossible not to get excited for what's to come. My own caffeine pitstop complete, I drop the roof of my Mazda Miata and head for the show.
Approaching Scramble, the outskirts of Bicester are soon filled with automotive exotica. At one point I'm followed by a 1960s Ferrari, and as I find my way to the airfield parking lot I pass what feels like dozens of candy-colored Porsches. More examples of 718 Spyder RS than I've ever seen before. Bicester Scramble is one of those car shows where the Instagram hashtag #alwayscheckthecarpark couldn't be more accurate.
Classic car restoration companies open their workshops for the show.
Parked up, I head into Bicester Heritage. Opened in 2013 and more formally known as Bicester Motion, the estate describes itself as 'a world-leading community of business, inspiring and preserving the past, present and future of automotive and aviation technology.' The site covers over 400 acres and during the war acted as RAF Bicester, home to squadrons of Supermarine Spitfires and Bristol Blenheims.
Today, the many buildings and hangars that made up the airbase are home to more than 50 businesses, ranging from restorers of classic Bentleys, to makers of automotive artwork, The Road Rat magazine, Hedley Studios (formerly The Little Car Company), Electrogenic, Polestar, Motorsport UK, Hagerty and Zero Petroleum, makers of carbon-neutral fuel. Most companies who operate here take part in the Scramble, with restoration workshops opened to reveal what's going on within, producers showing off their latest wares, and Polestar organizing test drives of their new models.
The airfield parking lot is often almost as good as the show itself
There's live music, plus numerous food and drink options, and it's an event where dogs and children are welcome. Scramble is mostly a static show, since the test track is used for parking, but the airfield remains open – I happen to know someone who arrived by plane to jump the line – and the atmosphere is still held high by the occasional revving of an engine to an eager crowd.
The wild McMurtry Spéirling was on display, the electric single-seater with a fan system that creates enough downforce to drive upside down. Since it had just smashed the TopGear Test Track lap record, it was displayed on the motoring magazine's stand, alongside the very first Aston Martin Valhalla and the electric MG Cyberster.
The sunny spring weather made April's Bicester Scramble feel even more special.
Even from just those three cars, the eclectic nature of the Bicester Scramble is clear. Yes, you'll see dozens of Porsches in the parking lot. But in the show itself you're just as likely to stumble across a Citroen 2CV or an immaculate BMW M3 E30 as you are a GMA T50 or Volkswagen Beetle. Instead of lining everything up neatly, the joy of the Bicester Scramble is how the cars are seemingly scattered about at random. You'll spot a Porsche 356 poking out from behind a tree, then be drawn towards a Ferrari 246 Dino in the doorway of a showroom, before being distracted by a rally-spec Volkswagen Polo.
Strolling about the Scramble on a warm spring morning, pointing out all manner of cars and chatting about them with your friends, is one of the great joys of the British automotive calendar. I met up with a friend who hadn't been before, and who quickly likened it to a mini Goodwood Festival of Speed. High praise indeed, but it really is that good.
Star cars for this show include the 'Wings' collection of special-edition Aston Martins built to commemorate aircraft like the Concorde, Spitfire and the UK air force's Red Arrows display team. The team at Bicester Motion did a great job bringing a selection of these ultra-rare cars into one place. Other highlights included a pair of British winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in the form of the 1988 Jaguar XJR-9 and the 2003 Bentley Speed 8, pictured below.
A Le Mans-winning Bentley joined the show
Although prices have kept up over the years, to £26 (about $35), if you arrive early and plan to stay for the 10:00 am - 04:00 pm duration, it still feels like good value, given the breadth of vehicles on display. With work underway to dramatically expand the site, adding a hotel, exhibition center and test tracks, I can't wait to see what else Bicester Motion will have to offer in the years to come.