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How Augmented Reality is Transforming Live Events and Immersive Experiences: AR Car Show

14th May 2025

What if your audience could step back in time, walk among vintage vehicles, ride in a sports car and even climb inside a DeLorean? That’s the power of Augmented Reality (AR).

Creating the World’s First Augmented Reality Car Show for Live Audiences

As part of the CORE project, we set out to explore how Augmented Reality experiences can reshape public engagement, storytelling and entertainment. With a brand new 5G Open RAN network and a historic venue brimming with cultural legacy, we pushed the boundaries of immersive technology. Our goal? To turn history into a living, breathing experience. And prove AR is a powerful tool for bringing communities together and reimagining what’s possible in a live event space.

In this blog, we will:

Explore how immersive AR experiences can elevate live events
Take a deep dive into our groundbreaking work on the world’s first AR car show
Listen to what the trialists thought of the experience
Explore how AR can elevate any event or industry.

Whether you’re an event planner, brand strategist or creative technologist, discover how this technology is reshaping storytelling, engagement and the future of live experiences.

The Vision and Client: Turning History Into an Immersive AR Journey

Gooii’s Augmented Reality Car Show was part of the CORE project, funded through the UK’s £88 million investment in 5G Open RAN technologies. Led by Connecting Cambridgeshire, the initiative brought together partners to test the 5G network in high-demand areas.

Gooii is proud to be working alongside a range of partners on the CORE project including:

Our role focused on developing community-focused AR experiences at the Cambridge Corn Exchange to support local tourism.

Read more about the new 5G Open Ran network.

The Brief: Bring a Century of Vehicle Culture Back to Life in AR

Utilising the new network, the brief was to create an Augmented Reality experience that celebrated the Corn Exchange’s 150 year history. Shining a light on the historic car shows that used to take place in the venue in the early twentieth century.

What We Delivered: From Penny Farthings to Flying DeLoreans

The result was a virtual re-enactment of these shows, including a variety of different vehicles that all had a link to Cambridge.

These included the Penny Farthing, Peugeot Phaeton, the Austin Cambridge, the Sinclair C5, e-scooters and pedal bikes. We also featured a DeLorean car as seen in the film Back To The Future. This was thanks to links with Cambridge Audio, who are making the audio equipment for the new DeLorean range of cars.

Testing the Tech: Real People, Real Reactions

In order to test the technology, we set up a public trial day at the venue. We invited members of the public to test the AR experiences we had developed in-house. For this session, participants put on AR headsets and walked around the auditorium, into which the car show was delivered.

Behind the Scenes: How We Built the AR Car Show

Using detailed archive photos and footage, we 3D modelled the vehicles in our studio. Our coders then turned these fantastic models into an interactive AR experience.

During the trials, participants gathered at the Corn Exchange and put on their AR headsets. The headsets streamed the CGI assets from an edge server, displaying them as holograms projected into the real world space.

The cars were navigated via a control panel, so everyone in the group could see the cars as they travelled through time. Participants could walk around the vehicles and explore the cars in great detail. It was even possible to get in them and experience what it was like to drive these classic machines.

From CGI to Flying Cars: Making the Content Come Alive

We developed a series of CGI effects to enhance the experience and make the content come alive.

There was a constant roaring of engines and a thumping soundtrack for each vehicle, ranging from Queen’s ‘Bicycle Race’ for the classic Cambridge bike, to ‘Don’t You Want Me Baby’ by The Human League for the ahead-of-its-time electric Sinclair C5. We also turned the DeLorean into a flying car, swooping over the audience in a bolt of electricity to Alan Silvestri’s ‘Back to the Future’ theme.

Real Feedback: What Audiences Thought of the Experience

“Projects like this are the future, because ultimately it’s changing the way we consume media.” – John Naylor, Nexus Studio

“You can have a car show that happened here in the early 1900s recreated using 5G and AR. So it can really feel like you’re back there for one of the amazing purposes that this building took on.” – Pete Robbins, Cambridge Corn Exchange.

Here’s some of the feedback we received from trial participants:

“The cars were mind-blowing!!!”
“I loved that you could see what was inside the car.”
“The experience was seamless”
“I love the flying Delorean and the fact you can actually look inside the vehicles.”
“You could see your environment and people you were with as well as the cars.”
“Exceeded all expectations.”

Hands-On History: Climb Into Classic Cars with AR

We took the experience to the next level by allowing participants, not just to view the vehicles from the outside but to actually step inside them. Users could explore the interiors of each car in rich detail – from the steering wheels and dashboards, to the seating and design features unique to each era.

This added a layer of interaction that transformed the installation from a visual showcase into a fully immersive experience. This gave users a deeper, more personal connection to the vehicles and the history they represent. It wasn’t just about seeing, it was about feeling and believing these classic vehicles were truly there.

Beyond Car Shows: How AR Can Elevate Any Event or Industry

The possibilities for Augmented Reality experiences in events and beyond are limitless.

Transforming Corporate Events and Brand Experiences

For the corporate world, AR is a game-changer for engagement. Product launches can become multi-sensory, training sessions can turn into interactive simulations. Keynote presentations can come alive with responsive, 3D visual content. Businesses can better capture attention, improve knowledge retention and make messaging more memorable. Movie companies can create

Virtual Exhibits and Smart Prototyping

Across museums, exhibitions and manufacturing, AR can bring ideas to life without the logistical or financial constraints of physical builds. Entire exhibits can be created virtually and industrial teams can model and test products before making real-world investments.

A New Era for Entertainment

Whether it’s a theme park, cinema or conference stage, AR has the potential to transform the way we create, educate and entertain – making every experience more immersive, impactful and unforgettable.

Reimagining Live Performances

In the performing arts, AR creates endless new possibilities. Imagine a theatre production, opera or immersive show where digital set pieces and props appear and disappear in real-time, dynamically enhancing the narrative and drawing audiences deeper into the story.

Immersive Storytelling & Education

AR is rapidly emerging as a powerful tool for learning and storytelling. Experiences like the AR Car Show could be expanded into immersive time-travel journeys – enabling participants to watch objects evolve through history, or interact with virtual figures like designers, racers or cultural icons who appear alongside artefacts to share their stories.

A Glimpse into the Future of Live Events

The AR Car Show at the Cambridge Corn Exchange was more than just a showcase of classic vehicles. It was a proof of what Augmented Reality experiences for events can truly achieve. By blending digital innovation with real-world spaces, we created something memorable, meaningful and accessible to all. It showed us that AR can breathe new life into history, deepen audience engagement and transform static venues into interactive storytelling platforms.

As we look ahead, the possibilities for AR in events, education, business and beyond are limitless. From immersive exhibitions and live performances to virtual training environments and brand activations, this technology is ready to take centre stage.

This is just the beginning. If you’re ready to explore how AR can elevate your next event or project, we can bring your vision to life.

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