It's no secret for anyone who loves the Ford Motor Co. that the annual Ford Fair event held at Silverstone Circuit is the pinnacle event of the year. It's that one event where the anticipation and excitement are enough to get you out of bed at 5am feeling energised and pumped to be a part of it. Known as Europe's largest Ford gathering, the one day event attracts over 18000 visitors who have very little chance of getting to see all of the approximately 4000 display vehicles spread across the Silverstone complex.
Traders are usually set up the night before, and after an average nights sleep are up and at it early preparing the display stands for the days onslaught. Whiteline wholesale distributor for the UK Co-Ordsport handled all the logistics and set up which we are very thankful for. Car clubs and display cars are able to get in to the event from 7am and entry to the public is from 10am. Having travelled 4 hours on Sunday morning my colleague and I arrived at 9:30am. Surprisingly, accessing the event was effortless with no cars queued at the traders entrance. There was certainly no hiding the queue of people standing at the gates waiting for the 10am opening - just what we were hoping for!
Before we could reach the Whiteline booth we came across Whiteline ambassador "b7tmy" with his Mk3 Focus RS. The car rides on our performance lowering springs that offer a 15mm front and 30mm rear lowering. Whilst those numbers seem a little strange on paper, there is nothing about the way the car sits or rides that is anything but impressive. Tommy said the ride offered improved performance without sacrificing any ride quality, and later that day the car was out on track demonstrating just how much the handling and grip had improved.
At the Whiteline booth we were pleased to see people gathered in front of the display waiting their turn to find out which products were on hand or recommended for their favourite Ford vehicle. If you are passionate about and love what you do you will understand the sense of pride that is felt when fellow enthusiasts choose your brand and purchase your products. After all it is our community that allows us to participate in and attend these events year after year. We also noticed customers strolling around with an anti-roll bars draped over their shoulders like a soldier would wear a rifle. Couldn't be comfortable but he assured us it was only because the car was a fair walk away so he chose to carry it until they could get back to their car.
On top of new and repeat customers we also came across numerous of our Whiteline ambassadors, some we hadn't met before, who came over and introduced themselves at the booth. Once again without these guys out there creating awareness and advocating for our products and brand we would not be able to do what we love to do. To all our ambassadors who spent countless hours preparing their cars for the event we are truly thankful for your support. If you are interested in joining our ambassador program you can apply for sponsorship using this link: https://www.whiteline.com.au/sponsorship-application.php
Our product offering for Fiesta, Focus and Mustang is quite extensive and we were excited to have the new lowering springs on display for the popular new Mk8 Fiesta ST. Be sure to keep an eye out for the soon to be released MK8 ST Anti-Roll Bar Kit that is in it's final stages of production.
This years Ford Fair had everything from classic, muscle, highly modified, high performance, wide body, custom paint, wraps, etc but there was nowhere to hide from the pops and bangs which no matter the model can be tuned to snap, crackle and pop!! We got a bit close to a Mk2 Focus RS which sounded like gun shots cracking and echoing around the arena..... quite unbelievable and not pleasant at close range.
Originating from Australia, we were both shocked and pleasantly surprised to see a FG Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo Ute (utility/pick-up), these are pretty common in Australia and come in a number of variants with either a N/A Inline 6, Turbo Inline 6 or a V8 similar to that found in the Mustang, this XR6 Turbo variant was presented in immaculate condition and had us reminiscing about our past ownership's and encounters with these iconic Australian vehicles.
As the day began to draw to a close and the step count ticking over 30,000 we decided it was time to say farewell to the Co-Ordsport team and our Ambassadors for another year and make the pilgrimage back home.
It's been amazing to see what we've been able to achieve over the past number of years with the help of our dedicated distributors and passionate ambassadors. We look forward to continuing our involvement with the automotive community both in the UK and throughout the rest of the world. Stay #GripActivated and see you next year at Ford Fair 2020!