London Concours presented by Montres Breguet


 

London, 19-20 August, 2020

Within the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company in the heart of the City of London, a sense of near normality prevailed in these challenging times of the Covid-19 epidemic, for the London Concours presented by Montres Breguet on 19-20 August. Yes, there was self imposed social distancing, but other than that it was “business as usual”, so all credit to the organisers, the participants, the sponsors, the partners and the numerous trade stands, for a united stance and belief, that brought the show to fruition.


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On the first day it appeared that all their efforts would be, quite literally, washed away, as there was persistent rain virtually throughout the day, and umbrellas were definitely de rigeur. However, despite the precipitation there was a good crowd in attendance, the opportunity to get out to a show after a lengthy barren period was just too much to resist. In contrast the second day of the show enjoyed dry conditions with plenty of warm sunshine in the afternoon after a slightly overcast start to the day; such are the vagaries of the British weather.

The concours comprised of six classes, each with a different theme, such that they spanned from American hot rods to current supercars, like a Ford GT and a McLaren Senna, with a splendid mix in between.

Notable was the “Lancia Legends” class, which featured no less than four 037s in a range of iconic period rally liveries, together with a Stratos, but also included a 1929 Lambda 224 Lungo Cabriolet and a pretty 1934 Augusta “March Special”.



In the Aston Martin class examples ranged from a 1956 DB2/4 Coupé through a DB4 to a One-77 and a Vanquish Zagato Shooting Break, whilst the Lamborghini class included a 400 GT, a LM002 and an Aventador SVJ Roadster.



The Convertibles: The Golden Era class ranged from a Lotus Elan, through an Alfa Romeo Junior Spider to a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster and a Ferrari 330 GTS. Probably the most diverse class was the Lost Marques one, with examples as widespread as a Unipower GT, a Jowett Javelin, a Bizzarrini P538 Roadster, a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus and a Facel Vega HK500.

At the end of a very wet day, the judges choice for Best of Show was the Ferrari 330 GTS of Sarah and Nigel Allen, unfortunately, but obviously, having to collect the trophy with the hood up.

Apart from the concours classes there were four display groups, one of which was for the Dino with nine examples on show. These included Kevin O’Rourke’s modern interpretation of the classic, featuring a heavily reworked Ferrari 328 engine and 360 wheels and brakes, amongst other modern upgrades. The other display groups were for “The Collector: Ian Callum”, the “Octane & Evo Paddock” and “The Coachmakers”. Within these groups there were cars from renowned car designer Ian Callum’s personal collection, which included a 1976 Jaguar XJC reworked by him, whilst the Octane & Evo paddock included a splendid 1935 Hispano-Suiza 312 Cabriolet by Vanvooren, and for diversity a pair of Subaru Impreza rally cars. In the Coachmakers display there was a Jaguar E-Type Coupé and a Bentley Azure Convertible amongst the featured cars. There were also a number of interesting automobiles on the partner and trade stands, including a Ferrari F50 and 599 GTO in Foskers display, a very original looking Dino 246 GT on Peter Wallman’s stand, whilst manufacturers Alpine and Lotus were also present, the former with their all-electric Evija supercar, and the latter with a classic A110 together with the new A110 to Légende GT specification.

Best of Show - 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS

Class Winners

Great Marques: Aston Martin
1956 Aston Martin DB2/4 MkII

Great Marques: Lamborghini
1970 Lamborghini Espada

The Pursuit of Speed
1952 Jaguar XK120 FHC

The Era of The Supercar
2001 Lamborghini Diablo

Lancia Legends
1974 Lancia Stratos HF Group IV

Convertibles: The Golden Era
1967 Ferrari 330 GTS

The Lost Marques
1961 Facel Vega HK 500

The Speed of Sand: The 100 MPH Club
1932 Ford Lakes Streamliner V8

 

Ferrari Entry

Class – Convertibles: The Golden Era

330 GTS

Red

10359

Class – In Pursuit of Speed

365 GTB4

Red

16359

F40

Red

90353

Class – The Era of the Supercar

Testarossa

Black Met’

85718

348 Challenge,

Red  

94057

599 GTB Fiorano HGTE

Black Met’

173047

458 Speciale

White-Dark Blue & Gold Stripes

202103

 

Dino Display

246 GT

Red

NJO 10

06766

246 GT

Grey Met’

246 NBB

02636

246 GTS

Blue Met’

RPF 4L

06188

246 GTS

Silver

JKH 381L

04824

246 GTS (US Version)

Purple Met’

CDM 157M

08306

246 GT

Yellow

DNO 246E

02646

246 GT

Grey Met’

BTJ 267L

04348

246 GT

Blue

3 DER

05286

246/328 Evo

Red Met’

CNF 226M

06364
(steering column)

 

Keith Bluemel         
08/2020