Even though it has space for 350 cars and covers 25,000 square meters and is very near to Madrid’s central Paseo de la Castellana, Autocine Madrid Race is now Spain’s largest drive-in theatre with a screen that measures 250 square meters. With a bar and food trucks reminiscent of U.S. drive-ins from the 1950s, Autocine Madrid Race opened in February – perhaps appropriately – with a screening of the musical Grease.
The founding partner of the newly opened drive-in, Javier F. Espejo said, “Deciding on the ideal projector for our drive-in was no easy task: we’re talking about a huge 250 square meter screen and a cabin located at a distance of 110 meters. And when you factor in the light contamination of the city of Madrid, it means we needed a really powerful projector. After studying what was currently available on the market we opted for the Christie CP2230 and I have to say we are thrilled with our choice: the spectacular quality of the image and the powerful light more than met our needs. In addition, we were pleasantly surprised by just how easy it is to operate.”
Tecnica Cinematografica Loza carried out the task of installing the projector with the support of Kelonik. Since 1950, this family company based in the Basque County has been working in the design and integration of cinemas. Isabel Loza confirmed they decided on Christie for the new drive-in because of the brand’s proven reliability.
“Because the screen was so big and the projection distance so long, with the added complication of being in the open air, we needed a projector that would give us the maximum brightness and contrast possible,” Loza said. “And the CP2230, with its 6000W lamp and its 33,000 lumens, was the ideal match for the screen. Likewise, we also highly valued the fact that it is so easy to operate and requires little maintenance.”
The CP2230, which has 2K-resolution upgradeable to 4K, is located in a cabin designed by the owners in a shipping container conditioned to house the equipment, with air conditioning to ensure perfect functioning. The projector is fed from a Dolby DCP-2K4 server with six Tb for storing content. The sound for the movies is relayed on FM to the radio in the cars.
“The truth is that we are really happy with the final installation and we are hoping for a big success with the new project,” said Loza. This is by no means Loza’s first experience with drive-ins, having installed another three in the north of Spain, more specifically in Torrelavega, Gijón and Getxo, the last two with Christie projectors.
The drive-in’s program gives audiences a chance to watch all-time classic movies as well as the latest blockbusters and the company also has another drive-in in Cantabria, in the north of Spain.
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