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The London Concours sees a host of interesting and exotic cars come to London every year.
And 2019 is no different. Taking place in an oasis of green near the centre of London’s financial district in the gardens of the Honourable Artillery Company, Autocar paid a visit to take in the sights, sounds, and amazing cars on display. The two-day show continues until Thursday, June 6:
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1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost ‘Nellie’
Previous Concours Trophy winner ‘Nellie’ appeared once again at this years show. The 107-year-old Rolls' original destination when made in 1912 was Bombay and thus received a tropical electrical system to deal with the heat, raised suspension for the terrain and chain-mail mudguards to protect occupants.
Why ‘Nellie’ I hear you ask. Current owner Katie Forrest said the name was coined when the Silver Ghosts arrived in Britain from India and was “big and grey and looked like an elephant!”.
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1949 Ferrari 166 Inter Touring
Regarded as Ferrari’s first true grand tourer, the 166 Inter was named to commemorate the racing victories taken by the 166 S built by Ferrari’s racing division.
Powered by a 2.0-litre V12, the 166 Inter was the first Ferrari sold to customers with the intention of being driven on the road rather than a track, making it a crucial car in Ferrari history.
As was common in the day, many Italian coachbuilders fettled with cars, meaning coupé, tourer and cabriolet 166 Inters have all left their mark in history.
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1952 Jaguar C-Type
With ‘C’ standing for ‘Competition’, this Jag definitely lived up to its name. Produced for just two short years between 1951 and 1953, the C-Type took both powertrain and chassis cues from the softer XK120.
With 3.4-litre straight six in place, lightweight tubular frame moulded and gorgeously sleek and aerodynamic body in shape, the C-Type went on to win the Le Mans 24 hours on its first try and then again for a second time two years later.
Today, they are hugely coveted cars and at the 2012 Pebble Beach auction, one fetched US$3.7 million (around £2.9m).
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1954 Lincoln Cosmopolitan
Sharing its body with the Mercury Monterey and replacing the Ford Flathead V8 with the Lincoln Y-block V8, this luxury car is most well known as the vehicle of choice for 33rd President of the United States Harry S. Truman.
Supposedly holding a grudge against GM, Truman selected the Cosmopolitan as his chosen transportation vehicle and 10 were leased by the White House.
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1964 René Bonnet DJET
Known the world over as the first mid-engined production car, this quirky little French two-seater was available in either 996cc or 1255cc guises and paved the way for some of the best handling cars the world has ever seen.
We believe this is the only right-hand drive example in the world.
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1967 Jensen FF Vignale
The first non all-terrain production car to be fitted with both four-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes succeeded both the AMC Eagle and Audi Quattro by thirteen years and fourteen years respectively.
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1981 BMW M1
When BMW decided to enter the mid-engined supercar arena it knew exactly who to go to for the design. The initial plan was for Italdesign to do the styling and the car would be built by Lamborghini. But when the latter went bust it was Italdesign that also undertook the construction.
Just 453 examples were made, each powered by a 3453cc straight-six. In turbocharged racing form this was rated at 850bhp; street cars got a mere 273bhp though.
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1990 Ferrari F40 LM
An evolution of the 288 GTO, the F40 came closer than any supercar before it to offering the driver a sense of what it would be like to use a racing car on the road. Ferrari’s unapologetic obsession with saving weight meant the interior was pared back to the absolute basics: plastic windows and bare composite panels. The resulting car weighed as much as an average shopping car, while boasting 471bhp (a conservative figure compared with the reality, by all accounts).
Pictured is the LM, a stripped-out racing version driven by the likes of Ferrari legend Jean Alesi and Renault F1 veteran Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille.
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McLaren F1 XP-5
Even more exclusive than it was initially intended to be, the F1 was the first and last hypercar of its kind. Lighter and much less complex than most of the breed, just 106 examples of the F1 were built, including racers.
Its BMW-sourced V12 was rated at 627bhp to give a 240mph top speed. That’s impressive now, but in 1994 it was utterly unworldly.
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1993 Bugatti EB110 SS
Nobody could accuse Romano Artioli of being short of ambition when he relaunched the Bugatti brand in 1991. The result was the quad-turbo V12-engined EB110 which boasted 550bhp in standard form or 604bhp in Supersport guise; the latter could achieve a claimed 216mph. Just 139 EB110s were built before the company went bust in 1995.
It was also the first road car to feature a carbonfibre monocoque.
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1948 Porsche 356
When Porsche fitted synchromesh to all four ratios of the 356 in 1952, it became the world's first car with an all-synchro 'box. Until then, double-declutching was the order of the day.
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1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso
Conceived by Ferrari, styled by Pininfarina, bodied by Carrozzeria Scaglietti and powered by a 3.0-litre V12 – the most stunning GT car of all time? It can’t be far off.
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1971 Aston Martin DBS V8
Introduced in 1969 and on sale from 1970, this was Aston Martin’s first ever V8-powered car. An all-alloy 5340cc unit, the V8 was never officially rated by Aston but it was assumed to generate around 350bhp and 400lb ft of torque.
That four-headlight nose disappeared in 1972, superseded by a two-headlight alternative that arrived as David Brown sold Aston Martin to Company Developments.
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1986 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole
Introduced in 1985, the 5000 Quattrovalvole (QV for short) saw an evolution of the V12 used in the Countach up until that point. Now with four valves per cylinder – hence the name Quattrovalvole – and top mounted carburettors, the 5000 QV is recognisable thanks to its distinctive engine cover hump created by the new engine design, however in later versions fuel-injection was adopted.
Despite its Miura rivalling looks, every example shipped to the US was fitted with bulbous rubber bumpers in order to comply with strict safety laws. Luckily, this example was left untouched.
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2018 Aston Martin Cygnet V8
Effectively a rebadged Toyota IQ, the Cygnet was introduced by Aston in 2011 in order for the British marque to comply with the 2012 European Union-imposed fleet average emissions regulations.
It was only produced for two years and just 150 made their way onto British roads with roughly 300 sold globally - not quite the 4000-a-year Aston anticipated.
But in 2018 a one-off V8 model was built at the request of a customer. The 4.7-litre 430bhp engine is the same found in the Vantage S and propels the Cygnet from 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds.
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2019 Ferrari GTC4 Lusso
The GTC4 started life as the FF, which was the first four-wheel-drive Ferrari. This 2+2 features the same 6.3-litre V12 as the F12, turned down to 680hp.
Our verdict: “This is the only place you can get four seats, a decent boot and a naturally-aspirated V12 engine that revs over 8000rpm, and which is all wrapped in a quirkily appealing body.”
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2020 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante
Unveiled just two months ago, the Superleggera Volante is powered by the same 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 found in the coupé model and can crack 60mph from stationary in comfortably less than four seconds. And just look at that grille…
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1989 Porsche 930 Turbo LE
With LE standing for Limited Edition, many believed this was to be the last ever 911 Turbo – how wrong were they.
One of the last of the 930 generation 911, this beauty is, by some, seen as one of the most iconic 911s ever created, not least because at the time of its introduction the 930 was the most powerful production car in Germany.
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1964 Porsche 356 Outlaw
This is one of the most intriguing cars at the event. Customiser Emory Motorsports has combined a 1964 356 exterior with 911-964 all-wheel drive mechanicals. Amazing.
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1911 Fiat S76
This car – nicknamed “the beast from Turin” – was built specially to break the land speed record. It features a 28-litre 4-cylinder engine, capable of producing 300bhp.
Despite achieving 132mph, it just missed out on the record on technical grounds on a run at Ostende in December 1913, and shortly after that everyone had other things on their minds. It ended up in the UK in 2003 and was rebuilt.
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