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London Classic Car Show 2016 – Report and Photos

McLaren F1 on the Grand Avenue Jonathan Jacob
McLaren F1 on the Grand Avenue

The London Classic Car Show 2016 was staged 18-21 February at the ExCeL Centre in London’s Docklands. A strong crowd of more than 33,000 visitors attended the 2nd annual show over its three full days. Officially opened by Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, among the other highlights were visits from motoring royalty including former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, Sir Stirling Moss and McLaren designer Gordon Murray.

Special displays included an in-depth exhibition devoted to the McLaren F1 with no fewer than seven examples on show, together worth more than £50 million. The display was curated by the car’s creator Gordon Murray. Some of the world’s fastest cars were gathered together in a display which traced the evolution of the supercar, while another focused on the fearsome Group B rally cars, the so-called F1 cars of the forests.

One of the show’s main events was the Classic Six Nations Cup in which teams of ten classic cars from the six leading car-producing nations vied for votes from visitors. And when all the votes had been counted, the UK team — which included such varied machines at the original Mini, the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Le Mans Bentley, McLaren F1 supercar, Aston Martin DB5, Land Rover and Graham Hill’s 1968 title-winning Lotus 49 Grand Prix car — narrowly beat an Italian team full of Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis. American muscle cars helped the USA in to third place ahead of Germany, France and Japan. Prizes to the top three nations were presented by Jodie Kidd on Sunday afternoon.

The new hall also incorporated ‘Speakers’ Corner’, a stage where experts were on hand to talk about all aspects of the classic car movement. Topics covered included how to choose the ideal classic, buying at auction and classic car values.

“If we were delighted by how the first London Classic Car Show was received in 2015, we were blown away by the response to the 2016 edition. From the moment the show opened right until the final curtain each day, the halls were buzzing with visitors. They loved the special displays and really got involved with the show: more than 9,000 for example, voted in the Classic Six Nations Cup. And the really good news is that we are already starting work to make the 2017 London Classic Car Show even better. Make a note in your diaries now: 23-26 February 2017,” commented event director Bas Bungish.

Similar to 2015, Sports Car Digest also documented the London Classic Car Show 2016, with photographer Jonathan Jacob providing a superb set of images. We split up Jonathan’s pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs.

London Classic Car Show 2016 – Featured Photo Gallery

 

McLaren F1 - the Inside Story
McLaren F1 – the Inside Story
Toyota 2000GT
Toyota 2000GT
This Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1931 driven by Lord Howe and Sir Henry Birkin
This Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1931 driven by Lord Howe and Sir Henry Birkin

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Gordon Murray and the McLaren F1 supercar
Gordon Murray and the McLaren F1 supercar
Evolution of the Supercar display - Miura
Evolution of the Supercar display – Miura
Delahaye 235 MS Chapron Coupe
Delahaye 235 MS Chapron Coupe

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

London Classic Car Show 2016 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two

 

Lamborghini Miura from the Italian Job
Lamborghini Miura from the Italian Job
Jodie Kidd with the Classic Six Nations Cup winners
Jodie Kidd with the Classic Six Nations Cup winners
Jenson Button and the McLaren F1
Jenson Button and the McLaren F1

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McLaren F1 on the Grand Avenue
McLaren F1 on the Grand Avenue
McLaren F1 display
McLaren F1 display
McLaren F1 - the inside story
McLaren F1 – the inside story

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

London Classic Car Show 2016 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Three

 

Corvette representing Team USA
Corvette representing Team USA
Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile
BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile

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Aston Martin display stand
Aston Martin display stand
Ari Vatanen and the Group B rally display
Ari Vatanen and the Group B rally display
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

London Classic Car Show 2016 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)

 

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The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

[Source: London Classic Car Show; photos: Jonathan Jacob]