The dramatic move will...

The dramatic move will delight fans of the brand, which has missed the last two UK events. It"s also a boost to organisers, after Ford revealed it had no plans for a big unveiling that would pull in the crowds.

Jim O"Donnell, managing director of BMW GB, said: "We have been critical of the show at Birmingham NEC and declined to participate in the last two. The cost was prohibitive and there were better ways of spending our money. But I can confirm that BMW Group will be at the 2006 event."

The key words are BMW Group, as that means it won"t only be cars wearing the blue and white propellor which will be at ExCeL in London"s Docklands next July. MINI and Rolls-Royce are also confirmed, and O"Donnell promised all models would be displayed "in an interesting, innovative way". A BMW spokesman wouldn"t expand on what his boss meant, but highlighted how the MINI stunt driving show had been a crowd-pleaser in 2002 and 2004. He said: "It won"t be a "cars on carpets" event for us, and that goes for all three brands."

But he admitted O"Donnell was talking to German HQ about finding a model to unveil to the world at the expo. "We have something in mind that wouldn"t ordinarily have had a show launch," he explained.

Meanwhile, event organisers confirmed they will definitely be offering taster test drives directly off the car makers" stands - as revealed in Auto Express in issue 868.