Photos by Dave Brassington & LCCS press
Record crowds showed up for London’s double car events at London’s ExCel last weekend : The London Classic Car Show and the inaugural Historic Motorsport International.
LCCS – now in its 3rd year – clocked up more than 37,000 visitors through the door, there were impressive displays of marques represented from a number of independent vendors.
The most impressive of which was a selection of 21 of the greatest Ferraris, you had to see it to believe it – and incredible display of curated by Joe Macari, the showcase was valued at more than £120 million and included all the must haves.. Daytona, 275 GTB, Dino, 250 California, F40 and F50 – and was topped by a scarlet 250 GTO.
Just 39 of these virtually priceless icons were made between 1962 and 1964 and the show boasted not one, but two of these fabulous creations, a second starred on the GTO Engineering display alongside other masterpieces from Maranello including a stunning 1955 250 Testa Rossa and an equally rare 250 GT Competition Berlinetta Sport Special rumoured to have been commissioned for Hollywood star Ingrid Bergman.
Advice for those looking to buy a classic was available from respected TV expert Quentin Willson. He was present throughout the show and his latest ‘Smart Buys’ were showcased on the Classic Car magazine stand. “It’s got to be made in relatively limited numbers, it’s got to have a certain chemistry, it’s got to have a certain allure,” tipped Willson. “The cars that are going to go up have to be sexy, they have to look good and they have to make you smile.”
Adding to the excitement were the 66 hand-picked classics fired up for eye-catching displays on The Grand Avenue, a unique quarter-mile long highway running through the centre of the show.
HMI show was staged just across the hall and opened by Jacky Ickx, a special display hosted six of the illustrious cars in which the distinguished Belgian had won grands prix, Le Mans and a Paris-Dakar adventure. Ickx himself was present to open the show and was reunited with fellow drivers he shared Le Mans wins with: Jackie Oliver (1969), Jürgen Barth (1977) and Derek Bell (1975, 1981 and 1982). The foursome mingled happily amongst the crowd as well as sharing their memories with visitors during two fascinating public interviews in HMI’s busy Supagard Theatre on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
The Supagard Theatre also hosted some heated debates and entertaining interviews with a number of other familiar faces from motorsport including renowned racers Emanuele Pirro, Steve Soper, Martin Donnelly and Jackie Oliver and was home to the two-day HMI 2017 Conference Programme – with leading names from the sport discussing important topics such as safety, driving standards and eligibility.
Notable displays came from historic preparation specialist Hall & Hall and Cosworth, the latter celebrating 50 years of its remarkable DFV F1 engine featuring one of the original 1967 Lotus 49s which gave the DFV the first of unrivalled tally of 155 grand prix wins. Positioned close to the main HMI entrance it was a major head-turner as was the 1988 Le Mans winning Jaguar XJR9 on show in the Supagard Theatre.
The world’s biggest classic motor racing festival – the annual Silverstone Classic – also had a major presence at HMI not only showcasing some of the stand-out cars that will be competing come July but also bringing its famous Scarf & Googles pub to London.
Adding to the already buzzing atmosphere, HMI boasted a live sale by specialist auctioneers Coys on Saturday afternoon with an appealing collection of 22 competition and classic road cars coming under the hammer and generating more than £1 million worth of sales.
Topping the bill was a fabulous Ferrari 330 GT which – after some frenzied bidding from those at the show and on the telephone lines was finally sold to the room for £510,000 (plus premium). Other notable lots included a rare right-hand-drive Mercedes 190SL which achieved £120,000 (plus premium), one of the highest prices seen in recent times, £65,000 (plus premium) for a race-prepared Lotus Elan and £56,000 (plus premium) for a Deep Sanderson with 1963 Le Mans history.
To that end, the organisers have already confirmed two even bigger shows will be staged at ExCeL London from 15-18 February in 2018.
“Launching a dedicated historic motorsport show in London alongside the already fantastic London Classic Car Show has created a fabulous pre-season market place for all aspects of historic motorsport,” said Event Director, Bas Bungish.
“Many of those participating have already reconfirmed for 2018 when HMI will not only be bigger but will also be a week earlier thus providing all those involved with an even better opening to the competitive season ahead.”
