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London car shows

London Concours June 3-5, 2025

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1978 Ferrari 308 GTB. This example was purchased from Cooper’s of Leicester via Tony Willis, to the sales director of BMW Concessionaires TKM.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

After several long trips to Italy to follow my passion for old cars, a trip from Brighton to the London Concours was a pleasant diversion. It is but a short train ride up to the capital; catch a Thameslink train up to London bridge station, then a pleasant stroll across London Bridge, pass the monument to the Great Fire of London, then pass the Bank of England, and a few minutes later you arrive at the green oasis that is home to the Honourable Artillery Company.

But as the train pulls into London Bridge Station it starts to rain.

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London Classic Car Show, January 8-11

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McLaren-F1

McLaren-F1 One of the corner stones of the show was a display in tribute to the designer Adrian Newey. Under the heading of cars that most inspired Adrian was this rather fetching McLaren F1. Described as the first properly built hypercar and the last car you could drive to Le Mans and win.

Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp

The seasonal lull for car events in the UK has just got a bit shorter following the introduction of the London Classic Car show held between the 8th and 11th January, in the Excel Center, which is located in the heart of the London Dockland area.

The show was billed as being different from the normal kind of indoor show; the difference is that many of the cars were demonstrated at the show. Down the middle of the show hall the organizers had laid out the “Grand Avenue” in which a great many of the cars on display were driven. At the top end of the Grand Avenue was a roundabout which allowed the cars to take a circular route in front of the crowd.

It was great to enjoy the sight and sound of a Maserati 250F being driven in January without having to stand frozen at a deserted race circuit. The one criticism I would have of the show was that the cars were only demonstrated twice on the day I attended. One run was in the morning and then again early on the Friday evening, by which time I was stuck in rush hour traffic on my journey home. While I didn’t get shots of the demonstration, you’ll find out what it was like if you go to their website London Classic Car Show.

Maybe next year the organizers can run the second demonstration earlier in the afternoon. The show is aiming to become the Retromobile of London and judging from what I saw I would say they are very much on track and they promise that next year it will be at least 50% bigger.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Pinin Farina. Built in 1950 this example is number 12 of 17 built. Recently imported from Southern Italy and available to purchase from Alfaholics.

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