THE 2008 BRITISH INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW

 SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEED

SEND TO FRIEND

With 23 global debuts and more than 50 first sightings on these shores, this year's British International Motor Show claims to be the best ever, and of course alongside the usual glitz and glamour of the UK's biggest automotive exhibition, the trend for zero- and low-emissions transport takes a higher priority than ever; see page 3 for our take on Gordon Brown's visit to the opening day of the show.

Vauxhall is using the show for the world debut of its keenly anticipated Insignia, while Lotus has revealed its first all-new product for 12 years. The most significant UK debut is that of the Alfa Romeo MiTo, as driven in this week's cover story; other new models include the high-performace Ford Focus RS, Seat Ibiza SportCoupé and Nissan Qashqai +2, and there's an update of Land Rover's Discovery 3.

Electric vehicles on show include two two-seater sports cars, the Electric Lightning GT and the Tesla Roadster. More practical vehicles include the Th!nk City car, the five-seat Ze-o MPV and the new Quiet Cars brand.

Honda has a light weight, low-emission sports car, as well as the FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car. Other low-emission cars include Ford's Fiesta ECOnetic, Citroën's C-Cactus, Cadillac's hydrogen-powered Provoq, Morgan's hydrogen-powered Life Car and Opel's MPV Flextreme concept.

It's a shame, then, that a number of major manufacturers are not present, preferring to use other avenues to promote their wares. Among them are Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ferrari, Fiat, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Skoda, Volkswagen and Volvo.

The good news is that the following have chosen to support the event and, by extension, the British car-buying public. You'll find full driving impressions of almost everything at the show on the telegraph.co.uk/motoring website.