Ultimate Dubs 2018

Published March 18th, 2018

Words and Photography: Michal Fidowicz 

So, we’re finally back at the start of show season. Now I’m not sure about you, but I was pretty keen to get out of winter hibernation and actually… you know, do something with my life again.

The short break between Ultimate Stance 2017 and Ultimate Dubs 2018 felt like a couple of years. Disappointingly, I didn’t get a chance do get any work done on my car during that eternity, however pretty much everyone I’m friends with was busy tinkering on through the chilly winter evenings putting their cars together in order to bring something interesting out for this year’s show season.

We headed up to Telford early on on Saturday, with a busy weekend planned ahead. While I didn’t make any progress on my car, I splashed the cash instead on some new camera equipment which I was pretty keen to finally test out. More on that later on!

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The general tone for UD was already set as soon as we got to the venue. Our arrival was timed perfectly with the arrival of a lorry which carried in a handful of squeaky clean cars, including a brand new VW Arteon and BMW M4 GTS. That’s correct; someone out there was spending money in order to get a lorry to drop their new cars off at the show. At least the cars didn’t get dirty on the journey there (??)

There were of course people also driving their MK1 engine swapped Golfs hundreds of miles to attend the show, which is the sort of enthusiasm I was looking forward to seeing all winter!

We decided to attend the show on both Saturday and Sunday, which allowed me to get some indoor shots without having to worry about massive crowds of people getting in the way of my photos.

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Well, there’s that M4 GTS I mentioned… does look very pretty indeed.

The inside was primarily a trading area for companies to set up camp and sell things to the general public. While a lot of the cars on show I’ve seen before, I must point out that the products available have improved drastically since the first car shows I’ve attended. From the quality of the actual product, to the customer support, and the general amount of choice available, everything is clearly on the up. This goes for all areas, from the clothing brands to the cleaning companies and wheels manufacturers. The car community is definitely a busy and professional one!

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Right, I’m aware I’ve just shown you a load of BMWs (we all know I love a BMW) but seeing as the show is Ultimate Dubs, let me show you some of the VAG cars that stood out to me this year.

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Jeanne’s splendid MK3 Golf from Switzerland rocking one of our small Gold stickers… not available on our store, but we occasionally chuck them into random orders!

As with Ultimate Stance last year, the red hall was home to some interesting builds at UD this year, including the Still Static stand. It’s pretty refreshing to see more modern VAG cars on static suspension, as opposed to the more common air set ups.

The two cars that really stood out to me on Saturday however, were both in the hallway to the main halls entrance. Dan’s MK5 is the first of the pair, and in my eyes is the definition of Ultimate Dubs. He’s taken rarely spec’d example of a common chassis, and made it his own even more with clean modifications which compliment the car and tie it all together.  The second is Amar’s static 6n2. Having built many Polos in the past, this one’s unique colour combination really popped and grabbed my attention. The small details such as the yellow seat belts do a really good job of tying it all together with the yellow pin stripes and headlights.

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Moving onto the Sunday, which was the day of the outside show and shine. The quality of cars here really impressed me, and it’s clear that a lot of people put in a lot of effort in order to make their cars look good. This little MK3 cab really grabbed my attention, and I made sure to get more shots of it in our UD aftermovie.

Once again, it’s really nice to see a lot of static cars about – either my memory is playing tricks on me, or there wasn’t as many of them about last year. There’s just something that really interests me in trying to achieve fitment without having the luxury or being able to raise the car up and down.

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… the bagged stuff wasn’t shabby either though!

Well, this pretty much ties up our photo coverage of UD. However, remember I mentioned earlier I got some new kit for this show season? Check out our 4k aftermovie of the event, which features a lot of Josh’s static A2 in the beginning. We’ll be brining full video coverage of all the shows we attend this year, which I’m absolutely buzzing about.

I’ll leave you with that, and some photos of Josh’s A2. Oh, and a couple of night rollers of Olly’s car. For some reason Olly won’t leave me alone and always ends up convoying home with us…

Thanks for reading!

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