Inspiring
ONCE MORE
FROM THE TOP
It was a spectacular event by any standards, as new Insignia got off – literally – to a flying start. We were there to see the show.
WORDS BY RICHARD YARROW, PICTURES BY VAUXHALL
Anyone who has ever organised an outdoor event knows there’s a risk the weather will play a part in shaping it as a hit or miss. Thankfully, it was baking hot on 21 July 2008, the day of the amazing launch stunt, designed to get people talking about new Insignia before its world premiere at the British International Motor Show. That was the icing on the cake for one of the most thrilling new car introductions the motoring world had ever seen. Then again, how could dropping a car from a height of 45 metres into the heart of one of the world’s busiest cities, before driving it on to a stage in front of hundreds of Europe’s most influential motoring journalists and VIP guests, ever be anything else?
The venue was London’s Potters Fields Park, the official name for the grass that nestles between the ultra-modern More London office development, City Hall (home to Mayor Boris Johnson), and the majesty of the mighty River Thames. Providing a backdrop to it all was one of the world’s most recognised landmarks, the historic Tower Bridge.
Two days before, a 4.7-metre-diameter metallic sci-fi capsule had “crashed” into the park and the site had been quickly protected by an entourage of men in black. Intrigued, passersby shot footage on their mobile phones and loaded it onto YouTube, creating just the sort of buzz that the stunt had been designed to do.
Then, on Monday 21 July 2008, just before 2pm, with crowds of office workers pushing their lunch break to the limit behind metal railings, the action began.
First up were explosive female four-piece string quartet Bond, who took to the elevated stage in stunning black cocktail dresses to play an energetic introduction beneath the capsule, which was now suspended high in the air, having been lifted by a massive industrial crane the night before.
They were followed by TV presenter Kate Thornton, who introduced “the real star of the show” and directed the crowd’s attention to the sky. The capsule’s ‘bomb-bay’ doors suddenly opened to reveal the name of the new car – Insignia – on the base of a large rectangular platform. It dramatically plunged towards the ground in just six seconds, slowing to a halt, head-height above the ground and giving the world its first glimpse of new Insignia in the metal.
Moments later, it was being driven off the platform and onto the stage. From behind the wheel emerged Alain Visser, Chief Marketing Officer for GM Europe, and his first words summed up the event perfectly: “Ladies and gentlemen… the new Insignia has arrived!”
What the audience didn’t appreciate was that this highly-technical execution, which involved teams from Europe and the US, had just a 20-second window in which it had to start. Everything went perfectly – but how did they do it? Turn the page to find out…