It is a new dawn, a new day and the preparations for the 2023 season.
Ultimate Dubs (UD) has already cemented its status as an icon with another year of motor shows coming up in the UK. It’s time for these buildings to get out of the garage and onto the street.
It’s been almost exactly 365 days since I last had the pleasure of sharing the season opener with you, our lovely Speedhunters viewers, but in 2023 I’m actually writing this forward I have to go to the show. Allow me to indulge in some speculation…
By this point, UD has been so successful that it has become a standard format at many UK motor shows and attracts visitors from across Europe and beyond. Last year, Jamie Orr even showed off with his jester VW Atlas and Mk3 Golf combo shipped in from the US.
I’m certainly looking forward to seeing a healthy selection of the best VW show cars on display, most of which will be water-cooled, but there are some nice air-cooled examples too.
I’m also expecting to see some changes in some of the trade show booths that are not limited to VAG cars and would bring a nice change of pace to the event.
But this year, I’m really looking forward to where I am now no Looking forward to exhibiting.
Before going to any event, I always try to do some detailed reading, identify past themes and trends, and remind myself of what the past years were like.
Over the past few days, I’ve been down the Dubber rabbit hole deep, and have stumbled across old UD posts and photos on forums I didn’t even know existed. Some date back to 2006, when the Telford International Center first opened its halls to fans of the “People’s Car”.
What did I find? The Recaro CS seats are trimmed in tan leather, the BBS RS wheels feature dual stepped lips, and the Mk5 golf balls feature custom metal wide arches.
Now, I’m not going to repeat old content; our UK Resident Veterans Paddy and Ryan commented… “On Consistency” Back in 2019, the Volkswagen scene was a double-edged sword.
Yes, a venue full of high-quality display cars is great, but if they look the same year after year, where’s the spark?
More power for those striving to create the cleanest, most polished classic Volkswagen ever. These cars definitely sit in my Venn diagram of interest in cars.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are people who live for social media and try to shock, disrupt and offend the internet so much that my instagram Crashes every time their car passes my feed. In fact, more and more people are building cars these days that deliberately avoid any resemblance to “known” cars in the “scene.”
A novel idea is always amazing, but I don’t like being different just for it.
My ultimate mission at Ultimate Dubs this year was to find work that was truly inspiring, or that resonated with me so much that I couldn’t resist sharing it with you. Every tuned car has its place in this world, whether it’s classic style, restoration nuts and bolts, peak performance or crazy balls.
So come on Telford, bring it on. tell me what you have.
Mario Cristo
Instagram: mcwpn