Big Boys Toys Goes BIGGER for its 20th Anniversary Show!

New Zealand’s iconic lifestyle show Big Boys Toys keeps adding attractions and will proudly be the largest in a decade when the 2018 event opens on Thursday.

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary from 16-18 November at the ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, this year’s event brings great new technology, innovation and more than a few surprises to the 2018 lineup.

Where else can you see a car smash to the ground from 80m, drive an electric vehicle and check out the supercars, watch medieval warriors smash each other senseless with swords and axes, see FMX riders soar through the air, or watch competitive barbecue champions duel it out on the grill … all before lunchtime!

In fact, this edition of Big Boys Toys celebrates all the diversity of the man’s world, with exciting, oddball and quirky elements to boot!

While the Driven Hall has the rare and spectacular petrol-powered Ferrari 812 Superfast and 2018 Ford GT for example, it also features the all-electric Tesla Model 3. In fact, EVs are making their mark on BBT with the Electric Avenue offering the incredible electric vehicles such as the new Hyundai Kona and the Nissan Leaf Nismo, and a chance to test drive the latest EVs & E-Bikes.

And if you think EVs don’t qualify as supercars, there’s also a chance to see the Killajoule – the world’s fastest electric bike and its rider and creator, Eva Håkansson who holds the fastest ever FIM world speed record for a female motorcycle rider at 400.278 km/h!

There are quirkier vehicles to vie, such as the Wayne’s World Mirthmobile providing the good vibes, while the VTNZ incredible 'Road Commander' vehicle brings more than a touch of madness to the show.

The ever-popular Mammoth Action Arena will be delivering the thrills and spills to keep visitors on the edge of their seats with World BMX superstar Jed Mildon performing his spectacular array of tricks from an incredible 8m high ramp, along with Jaden Leeming, Hamish Burrow and Tazman Lowen.

Also featuring in the Mammoth Action Arena, Franklin Farm FMX star Nick Franklin and 16 year-old star, Carlos Hanlon will perform death defying midair tricks and flips to thrill the audience.

Staying on the ground, but no less thrilling is New Zealand’s first Harley Davidson stunt rider Kingi Walters. He’ll be part of the arena show that also features the best BMX Freestyle riders in New Zealand including Paul Langlands, Hugh Wotherspoon, Jon Riddle and Logan Hall.

And proving that gravity sucks, the TCNZ Car Drops features cars being dropped 80m from one of the country’s tallest mobile cranes onto the ground in a spectacular head-on crash.

New this year is the Jack Daniel’s BBQ Alley, with 30 competitive BBQ teams from Australasia battling it out for over $10,000 in prizes. Teams will compete across 5 categories – Beef, Lamb, Chicken, Pork and Pork Ribs to see who is crowned Grand Champion of the Jack Daniel’s Big Boys Toys Barbecue competition.

Other competitions taking place at this year’s show include the inaugural edition of the Combative Robotics National Champs, with our best robot builders creating killer-bots that spin, smash, bump and crash to take out the opposition.

Whereas a battle of another kind, The Medieval Fighting National Champs will see some of the best Australian and New Zealand warriors fight it out for the National title. This sport isn’t for the faint hearted, with authentic armour that weighs a ton and weapons that could really do some damage!

That’s not to say The Auckland Strongman Series is any less grueling, with the competitors having to lift, pull, and carry incredible weights as they strive to gain the title of strongest man.

And for lovers of the biggest toys of all, a huge Construction Zone will showcase the big machinery in an interactive format and includes the Auckland Excavator Operator Champs.

“We’re absolutely delighted with the lineup this year,” says Wilson.

“Ribs and robots, barbeques and electric bikes, strongmen and swordfights, stunt riders and supercars… Big Boys Toys 2018 has it all!

The event starts on Friday 16th November, at ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane.

www.bigboystoys.co.nz

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