Smart Cars

SHP were privileged to gain the contract to produce and modify vehicles to be used in the automotive theatre spectacular MPH Show staged at London Earls Court, Birmingham NEC and Dublin.

One project was to modify eight Smart Cars enabling them to play in a giant football match where the agility of the vehicles and the strength of the reinforced front and rear bumper sections hidden underneath the original plastic bodywork allowed for the rigours of the rough and tumble of the game.

SHP's innovative design of tube work and its mounting system enabled easy repairs to be implemented in the short amount of service time between multi programmed shows.

Ford Fiestas

Original road standard vehicles were being asked to perform exceptional feats within the MPH show.

For this project SHP Engineering were required to reinforce the roof and bonnet sections of the vehicle to enable dancers to walk and dance on the respective areas of the vehicles and for them to be strong enough for the dancers to jump from vehicle to vehicle while they were travelling.

In addition to reinforcing the vehicles SHP Engineering were required to devise a material content applied to the roof and bonnet to enable grip to be maintained on what was initially a slippery paint surface to ensure the dancers had every opportunity to complete their act.

The early rehearsals proved the abilities of the vehicles and it was the skill of the professional drivers moving the little Fiestas centimetres apart who were then making demands on SHP Engineering. By fitting specially supported seats to the cars it gave them the ability and confidence to drive the car with greater precision making each and every show even better.

London Taxi

A wolf in sheep's clothing, every petrol head's dream. How cool would it be to sit at the traffic lights in an old London taxi to launch it into a four second nought to sixty from a standing start and three donuts before you reach the next set of traffic lights with a paying customer sitting in the back. Well it is possible with the MPH 08 London Taxi.

SHP Engineering took a Mitsubishi EVO 9 with fifteen hundred miles on the clock pinned it to a surface plate, removed everything with the exception of the front bulkhead from the floor pan up then reversed this operation with a London Black Cab so it sat on top of the EVO 9 finally we filled in all the gaps.

Through SHP Engineering's innovative team using their skills, the attention to the finer details makes this vehicle amazing.

Only a visit to the SHP photo gallery can justify what was involved in this project.

It is not just an EVO 9 London Taxi. The level of component specification added to this vehicle makes it very unique.

The London Tour Bus

The remit given to SHP Engineering by Top Gear Live was to produce a London Tour Bus to carry out donuts at the MPH Show in an area of ten metres. The donuts needed to be pivoted from the front axle giving a smoke burning entertaining display.

With a projected build time of only four weeks to meet pre show rehearsals SHP Engineering were faced with a challenge in not only designing the scale version of the London Bus but selecting and sourcing all the relevant components to create the vehicle.

The basics of the vehicle design were a ladder frame, box section chassis fitted with double wishbone system and front uprights from a GM truck. The rear axle was bespoke using a Ford Transit centre section, the rear suspension is from a racing Pickup Truck. It also has a Quaife V8 gearbox and engine from a Ford V6 racer.

Not only did Top Gear get a donuting London Tour Bus to enhance the London theme of the show but they have a vehicle that will appear at London, Birmingham and Dublin events and more importantly as the shows develop it will now be an integral part of the Top Gear Live World Tour.

Should you have the opportunity to visit the show and are able to go backstage the London Tour Bus is a must to view and admire what was engineered by SHP from their steel racks, parts department and SHP suppliers in four weeks and one day.

Shell V Power Transit

This project featured within the show as product placement sponsorship. The vehicles used in the sequence were added late into the programme so it was perhaps the most challenging. The Ford Transit conversion from concept to delivery was actioned in twelve days.

On acquiring a donor vehicle, the Ford Transit was internally stripped and had the rear floor and axle mountings completely removed. An integral roll cage was created to add rigidity back to the vehicle. A new design of floor with axle mountings was fabricated with allowance for hydraulic ramps to be fitted. This enabled the front of the Ford Transit van to be lifted two metres at the front allowing a jedi formula race car to escape the confines of the van.

Most companies would have needed several weeks in a design studio for the design concept but the staff at SHP Engineering did not have this privilege as the project had to be completed in twelve days including modifying the formula car to enable it to be garaged within the confines of the Ford Transit Van.

SHP Engineering is proud of what we achieved in such a short period of time, although due to the speed of its creation the photographs that were taken do not portray the extensive work carried out.

Summary

Top Gear Live offered SHP Engineering Ltd a challenge to carry out modifications and production for a total of sixteen vehicles in a time span of nine weeks. The trials and tribulations of the demanding schedule and pressure created by the uniqueness of the design were soon put aside when the theatre entertainment of the MPH 08 Show showcased exactly what we had achieved.