Whether it’s attending one of the many weekend events or visiting a specialist automotive business, Bicester Heritage has become a mecca for British car enthusiasts.
So, full details of its planned expansion into the UK’s first ‘automotive resort’ make for compelling reading. More than simply a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for the historic vehicle sector, Bicester Motion – as the resort will be called – will provide a showcase for motoring of the past, present and future.
The plan is to turn Bicester Motion into one of the UK’s top 20 tourist attractions, placing it alongside the likes of the Tower of London, Stonehenge and the Science Museum. Ambitious stuff and music to the ears of us car fans.
‘First-of-its-kind resort’
Central to the resort will be a 344-room hotel and conference centre, along with an additional 770,000 square feet of new engineering, workshop and showroom space. Today, Bicester Heritage occupies just five percent of its 444-acre site.
Dan Geoghegan, chief executive of Bicester Motion, said:
“The automotive industry is in a fascinating state of flux owing to changing customer habits and requirements, alongside the technology shift in drivetrains and autonomy. Bicester Motion will enable both new and existing manufacturers to interact more effectively with their clientele.
“It will help build those relationships in a revolutionary way by providing an immersive environment that offers a lifestyle experience beyond just cars on tracks or visiting a showroom. The automotive world is changing, and we plan to offer a first-of-its-kind resort that will have multi-generational appeal.”
“Being around 90 minutes from 50% of the UK population makes the Bicester Motion location second to none, furthermore Oxfordshire receives 27.6 million visitors per annum.
“Of those, seven million visitors head to Bicester Village a stone’s throw away, with arguably the most desirable national and international demographic to the automotive industry.”
Highlights of Bicester Motion include:
- A 344-room hotel and conference centre
- Brand experience centre providing driver experiences for all ages, on- and off-road
- Future Automotive Speed Technologies (F.A.S.T) hub for advanced technologies and cutting-edge businesses
- The Motor Vaults private car storage for owners to use and maintain their vehicles
- Bicester Reserve health and wellbeing zone, including footpaths, cycle paths and lakeside lodges
- Bicester Expo events, conferencing and leisure destination
These are hugely exciting plans and Motoring Research will be watching the developments with interest.