Words & Photos by Henry Phull
Players, the show most of us have been waiting all year for, seems to have grown to be the biggest event on the scene, with people flocking from all over the country and now even from overseas. It’s the place to be if you want to show off your car alongside some of the absolutely best modified vehicles in the world. Plus, it’s the sort of show that you know everyone you know in the car world will be at, so it was great to catch up with everyone and finally put some faces to names. I’ve met so many good people through photographing cars, which is another reason I love doing what I do. Now I’m not going to lie, this show was a challenge to cover because of the sheer size it has become. It’s been difficult to include every car considering I shot over 1,000 photographs, so this year our Players coverage will be split into two parts, with the second following shortly.
I’ll kick things off with a few of the Players guy’s cars, starting with their new Mk1 Golf, a project built in ten days and ready just in time for the show with a stunning paint job and a set of super special forged 2-piece Rotiform SCR 7x17s. 17s on a Mk1 are not easy to pull off, but they’ve succeeded here with the car sitting just right on its larger-than-usual shoes.
The Rocket Bunny kitted E36 we saw back at Players Classic saw its last show as a Players-owned car as it has just been sold.
Carl switched things up for its final goodbye with a super wide set of white Rotiforms, and as a result looks it even better than it did before!
One thing I like about Players is that I know there’s always going to be at least a couple of 964s, which I adore. Shown here are Greg Howell and Richard Payne’s stunning examples.
Matt Clifford’s (of Watercooled Society) BMW E31 840ci is the ultimate example of showing how a retro cruiser can be modernised simply with the aid of air suspension and new Rotiform split wheels, which mirror the effect of the original Throwing Star alloys that were on the car as standard. Perfectly executed.
If you don’t know these two cars, then where have you been? Kats’ Mk5 (on the left) has just been upgraded with a set of 3-piece Rotiform LHRs, after some arch modification the Golf is looking a major improvement.
A lot of people still think of Players as a scene-only show. As ‘scene’ as you may think it is (and yeah, we’ve seen a lot of Rotiform and Airlift already), it really isn’t. It’s actually an event that welcomes all sorts of modification styles which we definitely saw throughout the day. Take this for example, Lee Crouch’s decked Renault 4 towing his “slammacaravanna”, essentially a pikey caravan on hydraulics. These two were welcomed in and pitched up right in the middle of the show.
Alongside him was our man Pipey in the Mk1 Golf body dropped on to a Beetle pan, this year with an RX7 Rotary motor installed, which had everyone breaking necks. Read more about this build at Coltech Classics by clicking here.
These WatercooledIND MD1s were a perfect match on this bagged B8 A4.
Zac Miles of Forge Motorsport displayed his freshly finished Mk1 Golf, on Rotiform VCEs and air, in an appropriate colour to match the Forge brand. A stunning example, recently completed by our friends over at Studio Incar.
From what we’ve heard, this could’ve been the last time seeing Becky’s E21 at a show for a while, so of course I had to snap a photo of this perfect 3er.
It seems some kids do have good taste these days… this Mercedes W114 is owned by 20-year-old James Aveil and I absolutely love it. Props to him for driving around in such an old boat of a car, it’s a stunner. Great to see the younger generation appreciating the classics.
Regrettably this was the first time I’ve had the chance to have a proper look around the Likehell Design Nissan 350z, and what a car it is.. matched perfectly with those Work Meisters along with some precise fitment, spot on.
Let’s not forget the other half of Likehell, Jordan and her Mini on Carline CM6 splits, such a cool little car.
Double trouble, two nicely executed Mercedes 190Es, both static and sitting really nicely.
Another of the Players Mk1, why not…
Forge always deliver on the motorsport front, check out their insane Ford Mk2 Escort.
The show season is coming to an end and Nick Sahota’s E30 M3 is still causing a stir! For those of you that don’t know, there’s an E46 M3 S54 engine hiding in the bay. Plus, it’s on air! Another project built and finessed by Studio Incar.
Think you’ve seen a big car? Think again.. This bagged ’66 Cadillac Coupe Deville was seriously long.
It’s the interior that really got me, totally love these cars when kept original like this.
I have a soft spot for Rotiform‘s OZT wheels, looking awesome here on Elmo’s bagged Audi TTRS. Doing the RollHard guys proud I’m sure.
So many things shout out to you on this RS3, including the custom wide arches and not forgetting the crazy centre locks. Everything’s just right, such a well executed car.
If you know me, you’ll know I’m a big E24 fan, now owning one myself. There’s a few others on the scene currently, but none seem to match the level of George Assi’s legendary 635csi. Having done everything possible with one of these, he’s truly the Godfather of E24s and full of knowledge.
A major highlight for me was Elmar Den Exter’s bagged E28, which made the trip over from the Netherlands to be there. The execution of the air ride is pretty incredible, and in my opinion is levels above a lot of the E28s in this country, great work.
I’m not normally a fan of Rotas, but I make an exception when fitted to E46 M3s with meaty tyres, such an awesome look.
The guys at Auto Finesse recently fitted a set of stunning BBS E51s to their project Caddy, and I have to say it really compliments it. Definitely the right choice.
Popping over to the RollHard stand, and I was greeted by Joey Hazell’s stunning E36 convertible on hydros.
For Players he sourced a set of BBS RF’s to go alongside the previous wheels which he actually kept on one side of the car! Sorry Joey, I couldn’t be bothered to walk around the car 
Forgive me…
Faz Ahmed’s Calypso E30 vert sits beautifully on a set of Image wheels.
I’ve said before in previous write ups, the BMW E21 has become the BMW of choice this year. They’re everywhere. Standing out is now becoming difficult, but Prakash Thanky has done it. Adding a set of rare Hartge splits in favour of the previous BBS’, the car is completely transformed.
That rear louvre suits the car incredibly well.
It’s a pleasure to see a Beetle like this at Players, as it’s normally the sort of car you’d see at the mainly air-cooled events we visited previously this year, and possibly first seen at Apex Festival.
BMW never produced an E91 M3 Touring, so Nicholas Pritchard decided to build his own, and what a car it is, now sitting on a new set of 2-piece 20″ 6Sixty wheels.
E39’s have certainly become more popular this year, but its rare to see such a nice example as this, with bagged fitment looking spot on and sitting well. Overall a crazy clean car, we like.
Another car we were glad to see at the forefront of the show, Sid Crowfoot’s Trabant, such a unique little vehicle which you can spend hours looking over and you’ll always keep spotting something cool.
Finally, I’ll finish with this bagged Porsche 964, owned by Manel Rabasa of DSLC Performance. The guys made the super long drive over from Spain where they’re based, saludos! Their 911 is an absolute thing of beauty, with those Rotiform FUCs complimenting the white paintwork oh so well. One of my favourites for sure.
That brings us to the end of Part 1 of our Players 2014 coverage. Check back soon within the next few days for the final part, in which we’ll be looking at some hidden gems hidden throughout the show. Stay tuned!