The Most Exciting Cars From This Year’s London Concours
Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours
From June 4 through 6, the London Concours was held in the heart of the city’s financial district. Billed as the capital of England’s “ultimate summer automotive garden party,” the three-day event takes place annually on the cricket pitch of the Honorable Artillery Company, the British Army’s oldest regiment.
For the eighth year running, this rare green oasis—set amidst skyscrapers—hosted over 80 of the world’s rarest, most desirable, and in some cases oddest cars: an extraordinary spectacle for the bankers looking down from above. From our perspective on the show lawn, the following entries were clearly the high points of the day.
-
1966 Citroen DS21 Décapotable
Image Credit: Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours Citroen’s seminal DS model took many forms when in production, from French Presidential transport to family station wagon. But none was as beautiful as the almost pure-teardrop shape given to the DS21 Décapotable (French for “convertible”) by Parisian coachbuilder Henri Chapron.
They were rare when new, as only 483 examples were made, and seeing one in real life is an even rarer treat now. This is a particularly late, matching-numbers version, and it’s all the more uncommon for being right-hand drive. In 2020, a left-hand-drive example sold for $246,400 through RM Sotheby’s.
-
1967 Lamborghini Miura
Image Credit: Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours When selecting a list of favorites from the concours, it would be almost criminal not to include the car considered by many to be the most beautiful ever made. Designed by Marcello Gandini of Gruppo Bertone, the Miura was, according to Lamborghini, “the fastest standard production car in the world” when it was revealed at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show.
This one has a great history. As the promotional car for the British Motor Show, it so bewitched its first owner that he ordered one on the spot, but in a different color scheme. Unknown to him, the factory brought the motor show car back to Italy, repainted and retrimmed it to his order, and sent it back to him in the U.K.
-
1970 Maserati Indy
Image Credit: Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours With a production run from 1969 to 1975, the Maserati Indy was bodied by Carrozzeria Vignale and named for the Italian marque’s back-to back victories at the Indy 500 in 1939 and 1940. Big, powerful, continent-crossing coupes of this era were well-represented at the London Concours, with an Iso Grifo and a very rare Jensen FF (another built by Vignale) also gracing the lawns.
Yet if we were going to drive from London straight to the Cote d’Azur, it would be in this 2+2 powered by a 4.7-liter V-8. This Maserati’s perfectly resolved, more linear styling signaled a design shift that would grow through the course of the 1970s.
-
1970 Ferrari 365 GTC
Image Credit: Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours Introduced in 1968, Ferrari’s 365 GTC features a body built by Pininfarina and a power train comprising a V-12—making roughly 320 hp—mated with a five-speed transmission. Only 168 of these gorgeous coupes were built, and today they are usually priced in the neighborhood of around $800,000, which probably makes them a little undervalued by comparison with the similar, but earlier, 250 series.
This specific Prancing Horse adds serious celebrity provenance. When George Harrison showed his 365 GTC to Eric Clapton, the latter ordered this one new. Clapton later sold it, but the musician has remained a Ferrari collector ever since.
-
1977 Meyers Manx Beach Buggy
Image Credit: Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours About three years after the Beach Boys formed their band and started singing the praises of surf breaks throughout the Golden State, Bruce F. Meyers introduced a popular way to get to them—the Meyers Manx dune buggy. A fine example of the wide range of metal (or plastic) on display at the London Concours, this original Myers Manx was probably the car you’d be happiest driving out of the show into city traffic. It was also a firm favorite with the knowledgeable crowd. American cars were well-represented with a special display of Corvettes, but this one flew the flag for California specifically.
-
1979 Ferrari 512 BB
Image Credit: Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours In commemoration of the Ferrari Testarossa’s 40th anniversary, the iconic model was well-represented at the London Concours, but this perfect example of its predecessor—part of the private collection of a respected figure in the classic-car industry—caught the eye of aficionados.
Debuted at the 1976 Paris Salon, the Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer (BB) became the fuel-injected 512 BBi in 1981. It was ultimately succeeded by the Testarossa three years later. As for the car on the lawn, its curvaceous lines, complemented by the rare Azzurro Metallizatto finish, are from an earlier, more elegant era, and even the badge is gorgeous.
-
2025 Callum Skye
Image Credit: Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours Some of the greatest hits from the back catalog of legendary car designer Ian Callum were present on the show lawn, including the Jaguar C-X75 concept and an example of the Aston Martin Vanquish. But attendees also got the rare opportunity to see a prototype of the Callum Skye, the first car he’ll build under his own name.
The electric 2+2 off-roader, radical and lightweight, will be made in low volumes in the U.K. from next year. It’s as good-looking and, likely, as limited as you’d expect, so you may want to get your name down for one now.
-
Best in Show: 1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE30 Supercharged
Image Credit: Charlie Brenninkmeijer, courtesy of London Concours After wowing the world with the Countach, a model in production from 1974 to 1990, Lamborghini was faced with the daunting task of following it up. The answer was quick, as in zero to 62 mph in 4.5 seconds. The answer was the Lamborghini Diablo, a new benchmark for the Raging Bull with a top speed just shy of 202 mph.
This modified Diablo lacks the elegance and originality of some of the other contenders that were on the lawn, but its Best in Show award is a mark of how popular these 1990s supercars are becoming as a new generation of enthusiast, in their teens when these were new, starts to build collections. Nor, it seems, is purple paint a barrier to concours success: in fact, there was a whole class devoted to cars of that hue.
Authors
-
Ben Oliver
