Text and Photos by Richard Bird, Rachael Longstaff and Rob Hawkins

The National Kit Car Show at Stoneleigh in the UK is always a major event, and often requires the full two days to see everything that’s on display. Held over the Sunday and Monday of the first Bank (public) holiday weekend in May, many visitors make a long weekend of the show, arriving on the Saturday night in time for kick-off the next morning and to avoid the long lines of spectators.

Richard Bird of Nubodi Automotive had his work cut out for the show. He had a freshly finished Tribute Kobra and his wife’s Maserati-styled 300S to exhibit alongside other Tribute models. The crowd of people wanting to ask him questions rarely died down, so even though I asked him to help out and take photographs, he never stopped all weekend. He had hoped to be able to photograph and catalog all the cars at the show, but soon realized this was never going to be possible, even with help from employee Wayne Rickard-Worth.

Rachael Longstaff of Roadrunner Racing was equally optimistic about being able to take plenty of photographs. She’d driven to the show in the supercharged SR2 (and returned home in it), and never stopped all weekend. If she wasn’t taking photos, she was helping out on the Roadrunner stand.

This year’s show was packed with manufacturers’ kit cars and specialists inside the exhibition hall and equally full of owners’ cars in the club fields. Inside, the latest Z3 body-panel kit from Tribute was on display (known as the 250SWB coupe), which aims to recreate the short-wheelbase Ferrari 250. In fact, panel kits seem to have become a popular IVA-free option within the kit car market, with the likes of DNA, Turismo, Bertini and the aforementioned Tribute Automotive all displaying some stunning transformations. Best in the show was probably the DNA West Coast based on a Mercedes AMG donor.

Elsewhere, Ultima’s all new Evolution could be seen inside and the club fields had a mouthwatering lineup of customers’ cars. There were project cars everywhere you looked. Take a look at the accompanying photos to see a taste of what was there. And keep in mind that the Stoneleigh show is only a stone’s throw away for U.S.-based car builders.