Bicester Heritage: 4th September 2023
Hagerty’s second RADwood UK event celebrated the excess of 80s and 90s car and lifestyle culture, with an amazing show of period dress, hundreds of RAD-era cars, and ten of the country’s most outrageously modified motors.
Thousands of showgoers filled a sunny Bicester Heritage on Saturday 2nd September, to witness a car show that is unlike any other in the UK. An eclectic selection of RAD-era cars gathered on the lawns of Bicester Heritage presenting showgoers with a jaw-dropping array of 80s and 90s automotive icons including heroic supercars, rare Japanese superstars and every make and model imaginable from this lesser-celebrated era of excess.
Period arcade games and 80s and 90s music created a fun atmosphere which was enhanced by many showgoers dressing in period clothing and accessorising their cars with RAD-era memorabilia, bringing the event to life. Such attention to detail has seen RADwood described as a Goodwood Revival for the 80s and 90s, continuing the growing global passion for RAD-era cars which started when US-born RADwood launched in 2017.
TV presenters Charlotte Vowden and Hannah Gordon were joined by journalist and YouTuber Chris Pollitt to select the winning cars from the vast RADwood display area. Many prizes were awarded including Best 90s Estate given to a Mercedes-Benz W124 and an Audi UR Quattro which took the prize for best 80s sports car. The coveted RADdest Car of the Show award was presented to Katie Bushell for her stunning, all-white VW Scirocco.
Avid car collector Paul Cowland, Abigayle Andre from TV show Repair Lot, Richard Porter from leading automotive podcast Smith and Sniff, motorcycle racing legend Steve Parrish and Craig Callum, Design Manager for Hot Wheels Vehicles judged the ten 2023 UK Legends Tour finalists live on the RADwood main stage.
Michael Wallhead’s 1975 MGB GT was chosen to represent the UK on the global stage and stake its claim to be recreated as a 1:64 scale die-cast model – after winning this year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour UK at RADwood, beating a record number of 274 entries. Michael is now facing the Legends Tour Semi-Final, taking place 2nd November, in a bid to make it through to the Global Finale and be in with a shot at the overall prize – entering the hallowed Hot Wheels Garage of Legends and securing his place in car culture history.
Mark Roper, Managing Director of Hagerty International, said, “Sunshine, cars and a relaxed atmosphere made this year’s RADwood UK the best yet. Hagerty welcomes all car enthusiasts and RADwood UK looks set to follow our own Festival of the Unexceptional in becoming a must-attend show for UK enthusiasts. RADwood and FOTU will be back, bigger and better than ever, in 2024 and I can’t wait to see you there.“
US-born RADwood was created to celebrate the excess of ’80s and ’90s car lifestyle culture, blending period-correct dress with automotive awesomeness to celebrate cars, trucks, and bikes from 1980-1999.
Founded in America in 2017, by podcasters Art Cervantes and Warren Madsen, Hagerty took stewardship of RADwood in March 2022 to build on the company’s purpose to save driving and car culture while expanding and supporting inspiring experiences for automotive enthusiasts.
