The next British Motor Show could be held in the grounds of the famous Goodwood House, we can exclusively reveal. Industry insiders have told us the West Sussex stately home is in the running - along with four other venues - to host the 2006 event.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) - which organises the show - hinted that it might no longer be held at its traditional home, the Birmingham NEC. And now the group has admitted it's inviting other sites to pitch for the contract.

A spokesman said: "We are writing to alternative exhibition organisers asking them to provide plans of what they would do for a 2006 show. While we're still in talks with the NEC, we are effectively putting the contract out to tender."

Five venues are thought to be under consideration, but the SMMT is tight-lipped as to their identity. "The British Motor Show is the UK's biggest public exhibition," said the spokesman, "so we are only looking at organisers with a track record of holding large events. A decision will be announced in December."

Despite the secrecy, we have learned that Goodwood is on the short list. The 1,200-acre site, which is home to the annual Festival of Speed, has its own race track, a hill-climb circuit and a 4x4 course. This would make it ideal for the British Motor Show's live attractions - which proved a big hit with the 461,000 visitors to this year's event. However, a lack of indoor exhibition halls and poor transport links could prove a drawback. Other possible venues could include Silverstone. The Northants track has the infrastructure to support a motor show.

The modern ExCeL exhibition centre in London's Docklands is also in the running, as revealed exclusively by Auto Express in Issue 824. Built in 2000, it has 65,000m2 of floor space - that's less than a third of the NEC's. The expo could even return to Earls Court, but this would require it to be scaled down and the 'live' element reduced.