THE 2023 LONDON CLASSIC CAR SHOW

Last month’s London Classic Car Show at the Kensington Olympia was an event that put many visitors in a quandary – i.e. how could I afford one of many utterly tempting exhibits without putting my entire family on eBay? It was not just the Porsche display celebrating 60 years of the 911. It was not just the trio of Harold Radford-bodied Minis that were initially the property of George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Richard Starkey, aka Ringo Starr. It was not even the fact that 2023 marks the 70th birthday of the Chevrolet Corvette.

In other words, for so many enthusiasts, the impact of the London Motor Show is cumulative, with the exotic and the near-unattainable seemingly around every corner. The Historic Auction provided the opportunity to bid for an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, a Jaguar XJS-C, a Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2, and MGC GT and a Triumph TR3A - Cars - Specialist Classic & Sports Car Auctioneers (historics.co.uk). This writer rather liked the 1981 Mercedes-Benz 250T and the 1982 Ford Cortina 2.0 Ghia Mk. V, both of which reminded him of his (distant) youth.

In fact, on seeing the list of fine cars to be auctioned, this writer began some B-film villain-style plotting on how to justify the purchase of that 1953 Ford Consul Mk. I ‘Farnham’ Estate. My reasoning to my partner (long-suffering) would have been it was more practical than the 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Unfortunately, I am unable to repeat her response in print; memories of ‘The 1967 Vauxhall Viscount Incident’ of many years evidently still linger.

So, it is wiser and safer to reflect on how the venue is a long-established aspect of British motoring history. For 32 years, British drivers associated the Olympia with car events until Thursday 14 October 1937. On that day, the Lord Mayor of London officially opened the first Earls Court Motor Show. This tradition lasted until 1976. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders relocated the show to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham two years later.

As for the London Classic Car Show, it was first staged at the Excel in 2014 and relocated to Olympia in 2020. Last year it temporarily moved to Syon Park, but in 2023 the event returned to the famous halls to delight countless visitors. And that Consul Estate is still very tempting...