The Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance

News & Media

October 1, 2009

Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival Showcases the “Road to the Future”

Exhibit to demonstrate the latest in automotive technology

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (October 1, 2009) – New to the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival, “Road to the Future” will include exhibits and presentations outlining the latest in automotive technologies. Displays from sponsors, museums and robotics contest entries will demonstrate cutting edge technology being used to develop the vehicles of tomorrow. This display will be available for attendees to visit in the Motoring Midway both Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1 at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Hilton Head Island.

“Our event has always presented the past and present, but we are excited to be bringing the element of the future to the Motoring Festival. Special presentations will be made by our exhibitors throughout the day on the impact of these new technologies on fuel efficiencies and the environment. These types of exhibits represent the interactive and educational experience attendees will have at our event,” said Carolyn Vanagel, the Festival’s Executive Director.

Exhibits scheduled to appear will include:

• Tesla: This two-seat, plug-in electric sports car offers 248-horsepower and uses no gasoline. It runs on a lithium-ion battery and comes with a 220-volt charger for your garage. Like the Lotus it’s based on, Tesla offers pin-sharp handling and powerful Brembo brakes. The Tesla will be coming from a local, private owner.
• E MINI: Just months into its pioneering field trials of electric-powered automobiles, the Electric-Powered MINI is now in daily use in metropolitan New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles, where they are being driven by private customers, municipalities, universities, public utilities, non-profit and commercial organizations.
• BMW X6 Hybrid: Promising to be the most powerful hybrid vehicle ever offered for sale, the BMW X6 Hybrid offers 480 horsepower and 575 lb-ft of torque from its twin electric motors and 4.4-liter V8 engine combined.
• Palmetto Electric PHEV: This Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) from Touchstone Energy Cooperatives holds the promise of using electricity from the grid to boost automobile fuel economy, cut pollution, and save energy and money.
• Dexter: Dexter, a real self-driving robotic vehicle, designed by Case Western Reserve University engineering students to perform real-time street navigation, obey the rules-of-the-road, and avoid collisions with other vehicles, showcases smart-driving technology that will enhance safety and take the automotive industry to the next level. Dexter competed in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, an autonomous vehicle race, where it advanced to the semi-finals.
• Biotrike: The Biotrike, a brand new plug in hybrid PHEV is a three (3) wheeled reverse trike designed to run on biodiesel fuels. A reverse trike is defined as (2) two wheels in the front and (1) one wheel in the rear. It will get tremendous fuel mileage and has a steel tubular roll cage to assure its’ passengers safety.
• Hilton Head Island High School: Hilton Head Island High School will have display their 2008 robotic entry from the international FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Competition which placed 22nd in the competition. This robotic vehicle comes complete with a chassis and drive train, Pneumatic systems and electrical and control systems.
• The University of South Carolina Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle: The vehicle is part of a project to demonstrate the capability to travel to work with a multi-person vehicle that operates completely independent from commercial energy supplies. The students are planning to obtain hydrogen from solar-power driven electrolysis of water, to create a unique, inexpensive to operate, short trip vehicle.

Gate ticket prices are $15 for Friday and Saturday’s vintage track event, the Savannah/Hilton Head Speed Classic, $25 for a Two-Day Track Pass, $25 for Saturday’s Car Club Jamboree, $30 for Sunday’s Concours d’Elegance, $50 for a Two-Day Festival Pass (good for both locations on Saturday as well as Sunday’s Concours d’Elegance) and $60 for a Three-Day Festival Pass (good for all events, both locations). Tickets are available online at www.hhiconcours.com. Children under 12 get in free, students are $5 per day (with a Student I.D.) and military and their families receive a 50% discount at the gate (with an Active Duty I.D.).

For more information, call (843) 785-SHOW (7469) or visit the official Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival website at www.hhiconcours.com.

About the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival
The Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival has earned the distinction of being one of the nation’s signature automobile events. The eighth annual Festival will take place at both The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa on Hutchinson Island, Savannah, GA and at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Hilton Head Island, SC from Friday, October 30 – Sunday, November 1, 2009. The multi-day event will feature historic automobile racing managed by Historic Sportscar Racing, Ltd., a Car Club Jamboree with 15-20 local and regional car clubs displaying their best representatives, motorcycle exhibits, educational displays, ride & drive events from automotive sponsors, a special exhibit of “Life on the Road” showcasing how Americans slept on the road before motels and hotels and, the pinnacle of the Festival, the Concours d’Elegance with 150 cars and motorcycles competing for Best of Show. Motoring Festival Partners include BMW Group/Hilton Head BMW, Porsche of North America/Porsche of Hilton Head, Jaguar Motor Cars, NA/Jaguar Hilton Head, Mercedes-Benz USA, Beaufort Memorial Hospital, Hargray, the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, the Savannah Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, Adventure Radio, Savannah Morning News, Celebration Events, Classic Party Rentals and Historic Sportscar Racing, Ltd.. For more information, call (843) 785-SHOW (7469) or visit www.hhiconcours.com.