On 13-14 January 2007, the NEC in Birmingham will disappear under a deluge of motorsport fans, with exhibits from all disciplines of the sport on display under one roof at the Autosport International show.

The show opens on Thursday Jan 11th (for trade and press) with Damon Hill, Britain's most recent F1 World Champion snipping the tape. F1 glitterati in the shape of Anthony Davidson, Takuma Sato and Martin Brundle will also attend the show over the four days.

At the core of the show, the Autosport Magazine Central Stage features guest appearances by all the top drivers and motorsport celebrities. Last year's guests included David Coulthard, Christian Klien, Tonio Liuzzi, Murray Walker, David Richards, Matt Neal, Jason Plato and the ITV-F1 team among many others. The Autosport editorial team is also on hand to answer questions about every aspect of motorsport and there are competitions, audience participation and games all up for grabs.

Rally fans will not miss out as there will be the usual display of WRC and historic rally cars and Subaru will display the new special edition Impreza RB320 in memory of rally hero Richard Burns. The World Rally Championship stand will recreate a Welsh mountain road with the latest rally cars and a service park. The stand will also feature a car simulator and top drivers for autograph signings, providing a truly interactive experience.

This year's main display covers the legendary Le Mans 24-hour race. It will come to life with the 'Celebration of Le Mans' feature, which will reunite famous drivers with their famous cars, tracing the history of this near-mythical race from its very beginnings in 1923.

Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket? Then you need to visit the Coy's auction and splash out on something like the Jaguar D-Type that finished fourth in the 1957 Le Mans and was recently sold for over £2 million. Or maybe a Le Mans Porsche 956, one of which is estimated to reach over half a million quid. For slightly less money, the charity auction features a signed set of Jensen Button overalls, a ride in a Minardi F1 two-seater, various bits of famous F1 cars and a visit to the Spyker F1 factory or the home of the BP-Ford WRC team.

The Live Action Arena is undoubtedly one of the highlights of Autosport International. Situated within the largest hall of the NEC, the indoor racing track with 5,500-seat grandstand allows you to see an array of motor racing action. This is the fourth most watched motorsport event in the UK and will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Performances feature up to 80 different cars from GTs to drift and stock cars racing around this purpose-built track, including record-breaking stunts, celebrity guest appearances and competitions for spectators. Cars which will star here are Prodrive's stunners, the Aston Martin DBR9 racer and the Subaru Impreza S12 World Rally Car.

For full and up to date details, visit the official website. We'll be at the show as usual this year to bring you all the latest news and photo galleries.

Syd Wall - 2 Jan 2007