Coventry University gears up to showcase the future of transport

The annual celebration of Coventry’s automotive heritage will take place this bank holiday weekend at the city’s Festival of Motoring, and – for the first time – will feature a unique insight into the transport innovations of tomorrow.

Organised by Coventry University in partnership with the Coventry Transport Museum, the Future of Transport Expo will run throughout the whole weekend as part of the festival, and will give companies from the area an unprecedented opportunity to shout about what they do and illustrate the vibrancy of the region’s transport sector – particularly low carbon initiatives.

The expo will showcase the considerable range of transport innovations that are being developed and produced across the region today. Exhibitors over the weekend will include Jaguar Land Rover, Liberty Electric Cars, Mercedes, Nissan, Peugeot and Vauxhall – each of whom are expected to have a ‘green’ vehicle on display.

Local firm Travel de Courcey will also be showing off one of its new electric buses, which began running on service routes along Kenilworth Road and in the south of Coventry earlier this year.

Coventry University itself is set to exhibit a selection of low carbon vehicles at the expo, with highlights including:

• the H2EV hydrogen fuel cell vehicle created by University spin-out Microcab;

• a 100mph battery-powered go-kart created by a team of undergraduates to contest the prestigious Electric Vehicle Grand Prix at Indianapolis;

• student team Phoenix Racing’s single-seater racing car, built for this year’s Formula Student contest to defend the University’s ‘Most Fuel Efficient Car’ award from 2011;

• the University’s entry into the Shell Eco-marathon – a ‘soap-box’ style racer designed to go as far as possible on a litre of fuel.

Students from the University’s world-renowned automotive design programme will also be on hand to talk about their course and demonstrate their car styling skills. A selection of futuristic clay models created by the undergraduates for their annual degree show will be amongst the display pieces.

David Wright, director of strategic development at Coventry University, said:

Coventry has a rich history in the automotive sector and the University has always been closely associated with this. Transport – including the ever-growing demand for personal mobility – is one of the biggest issues we face the world over.

We are therefore committed to playing a significant role in applied research and education in this area, and events like this expo give the University and its students a fantastic opportunity to showcase their unique talents.

The Coventry Festival of Motoring – which is due to take place on August 25th and 26th in its new home at Stoneleigh Park – is free to attend. For more information, please visit the Festival website.

For further information please contact Sarah-Jane Dean, Communications Assistant, Coventry University, on +44 (0)24 7688 8245 or email sarah-jane.dean@coventry.ac.uk.