The London Classic Car Show
THE LONDON CLASSIC CAR SHOW
Olympia, London February 20-23
Classic American has reported on this event more or less since its inception several years back. This year marked the first time this event was held at Olympia, after the organisers moved it from the ExCeL exhibition venue in London’s docklands. Ostensibly the move was made because of Olympia’s larger venue, although one suspects it may have been more to do with cost. One of the show’s unique selling points at ExCeL was ‘The Avenue’, a strip of road that bisected the hall which allowed cars to be driven up and down and add that dimension so missing at most static shows: movement and sound. It’s one thing to see a car sat, silent and motionless, totally different to see it in motion and hear its sounds. Alas, this was something that had to be dropped in the move to Olympia.
Were there any benefits to the move, other than space? Well, a lot of exhibitors felt it was a lot busier and certainly for those trading, the venue’s proximity to Kensington, Knightsbridge and other ritzy parts of London must have opened the show up to a whole cohort of wealthy visitors who previously wouldn’t be seen dead struggling all the way over to the back of beyond in the East End. Then there was the light; ExCeL, purpose built as a modern exhibition venue it may be, but it’s perennially gloomy. It often feels as if one is in a cave; Olympia, on the other hand, is a marvel of Victorian engineering, utilising as it does swathes of glass and iron, to present a bright airy space, much like Kew Gardens and, one supposes, ❯❯
Crystal Palace must have done. In some ways, it’s extraordinary to think a venue built in 1886 is actually more pleasant than a virtually brand-new purpose-built exhibition space like ExCeL, which now will be familiar to the nation for an entirely different purpose…
But enough about the venue, what about the exhibits? Well, there were plenty of them, a lot of prestige dealers and several clubs too. Coys Auctions had a big area with cars up for auction and that created a real buzz over the weekend. One car that caught my attention (well, you could hardly miss it with its Dukes of Hazzard day-glo orange paint!) was a 1964½ Ford Galaxie that had belonged to Tim Allen (also mentioned in this issue, in Scale Autos) who’s a famous American TV actor and car collector, renowned for his role in the TV show Home Improvement.
The car has been converted to race spec and as such has a race-prepped 351 motor, fourspeed toploader gearbox, upgraded brakes, roll cage and plumbed-in fire extinguisher, all ready for its new owner to take it HSSC racing. Shame about the colour, but there’s no missing it! It looks like it didn’t sell, as there were no results for it after the sale. Another eye-catching car on Coys’ stand was a 1973 Plymouth Barracuda in Rallye Red which had undergone a $60k restoration. Again, there were no results for this after the sale, suggesting it too hadn’t sold. At completely the other end of the spectrum was a V6 Camaro, of the type marketed here in the UK by GM 20 or so years ago. Apparently it only
had 88k miles and had been with the seller for 18 years…
Coys weren’t the only auction house on hand; Historics had a display there too and while they may not have had any American cars there as such, they did have a rather splendid Facel Vega, which as we all know was powered by a 383cu in Chrysler motor. This particular example claimed to be ‘the best in the world’ and had undergone a £50k restoration and was estimated to fetch between £115-£128k. Not a bad estimate as it hammered at just over £114k at its Ascot auction (reported here on the news pages this month) a few weeks later.
A pair of gleaming black Chargers were on Classic Investments’ stand, a 318 ‘cooking’ model and 440 R/T which were priced at an eye-watering £127k and £147k respectively. Undoubtedly these cars have been the subject of immaculate and painstaking restoration; however, I’m not sure the UK is quite ready yet for what they term ‘investment grade’ classic American cars and as of writing, they both remain unsold. Dotted around the exhibition halls were American car clubs, including the Mustang Owners Club and the Classic Corvette Club UK. The Chelsea Truck Company (oh, the irony of their play on ‘Chelsea Tractors’) had a big stand with lots of modified 4x4s, ostensibly for the yummy mummies of West London and in one corner was a line-up of Yanks, although their exact purpose was unclear. These included a 1964 Buick Riviera which has appeared at various shows for sale and a white 1971 Oldsmobile 442 recreation that we featured back in 2014.
Probably the most magnificent American car present was a truly jaw-dropping 1931 Duesenberg Model J dual cowl Phaeton. It was exactly the kind of car you could imagine Jay Gatsby driving and was part of the ‘Car stories’ feature of the show which went some way to replacing ‘The Avenue’ (where cars paraded up ❯❯
and down to a running commentary). Here, instead, the public were invited to gather around a podium while an expert waxed lyrical on whatever vehicle was on display.
The Duesenberg Model J wasn’t shipped over from the States, but is actually a key part of the ‘American Dream’ Collection at the Haynes International Motor Museum. Bradley Mauger, workshop and restorations manager, was the ‘talking head’ discussing the Model J, which was launched in December 1928 and features a 420cu in straight-eight engine, with twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, producing 265bhp, twice the output of any other American car of its time.
Up on the first floor gallery was surely one of the oldest vehicles on display which hailed from the UK, but spent most of its life in the US. This 1912 Unic 12/16 taxi was given to an American newspaper mogul by the CEO of General Motors (personally we think he would have preferred a Cadillac, but there’s no accounting for taste!). The Unic has been repatriated to the UK and you may actually have seen it yourself in Downton Abbey and Mr Selfridge!
Away from American cars there was plenty for petrol heads at both ends of the spectrum, from stunning Bentley dropheads to funny little Sixties 2CVs and of course all the luxury tat that now seems to accompany any prestigious car show. How about a more luxurious Range Rover? The Autobiography Ultimate Edition has built-in Apple iPads, hand-crafted interior, super yacht teak flooring and a supercharged 503bhp 5.0-litre V8 engine. Quite literally conspicuous consumption – the only thing missing was plate glass windows to protect you from rock-throwing peasants…
A trio of Rovers with their Buick aluminium-derived V8 engines would probably be of interest to Classic American readers, as might be the custom-painted van which was displayed on the gallery/first floor. And sticking with Rovers was an outfit, Bishop and Bamford, who restore and upgrade first-generation Range Rovers… with Corvette drivetrains! The drive for electrification continues apace and there was a Triumph Stag complete with electric motor and batteries.
In keeping with the show’s efforts to cultivate an upmarket image there were plenty of Mercedes SL restoration specialists and of course traders dealing in all sorts of upmarket expensive adornments for garages and man caves. I personally had been a bit sceptical as to how the new venue for this show would work, but in some ways, it actually seems better than ExCeL and that certainly seemed to be the opinion of those on the stands and the public, who turned out in their droves. Let’s hope it’s the same story for 2021!