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.
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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
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London Classic Car Show 2016 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two
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London Classic Car Show 2016 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Three
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London Classic Car Show 2016 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)
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[Source: London Classic Car Show; photos: Jonathan Jacob]
I strongly object to you describing famous people from within the wider motor industry as being ‘motoring royalty’ – there really is no excuse and only endorses the general dumbing down of the British Royal Family. Please do not follow the BBC in its disrespectful attitude.
Quite right, no dumbing down – like the BBC , well spoken.
Paul: There have been kings and queens in England that were wiped out and their followers. And some of them were rotten to the core. Read the Proverbs of the Lord Almighty and learn to live in peace. Let the kings and queens of today defend themselves as they have the means to do it. You’ll feel better and live longer. Thinks of the Stewards. They were kings for a long time. Then beaten and pushed out by some well funded rebels they are not todays British Royalty. Take a look at the English Kings and Queen and you’ll different clans/families take the throne. If you and I were Stewards right now we wouldn’t give a bean for those who took our kingdom. My best.
I’m getting dizzy from looking at so many tilty pictures. Don’t automotive photographers know what horizontal and vertical is anymore? Maybe they all just have one short leg!
Ron: According to the Wall St. Journal England has a big problem with alcoholism. This brew may be affecting the photographers not only in England but in a many other parts of the world.
I don’t believe there has ever been a study on how many photographers are under the influence of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and alcohol when taking pictures. Someone wanting to earn a Phd. in Sociology should do a study, which, I believe, would not change human behavior patterns or habits.
And I have to agree with you 100% many of the picture are tilty.
If I may nit-pick, all the Kings and Queens have been the stewards of the Empire, but one line of them were Stuarts,
Donald, thanks for the correction regarding the Stuarts.
Well spoken old chaps but what is dumbing down…?
dumbing down is the gibberish we read in this discussion. this is about automotive history. I guess the basement dwellers of the internet have found the way in. damn, idiots. royalty really. who cares.
I’m simply amazed at what Niguel Reuben has done to bring the TVR Griffith 400 to the point of beating (Goodwood 2017,etc.) Shelby’s famous AC Cobras, Ferrari GTO’s and LM’s, E-Jaguars including Aero, Lightweight, and regular E types. and the, according to British car experts, the best handling car of the sixties- the Lotus Elan S2’s.
Niguel Racing has done what Jack Andrew Griffith (RIP) who produced the American Griffith 400 did not do. Although the Griffith 400 was a race car built for the streets and could take any Corvette and some Cobras in the 1963-1967, period of time it needed some fine tuning to be an A Production Champion. Now, Mark Donohue worked on the Griffith 400, and used his racing experience to produce a production sport car that could take on any of the A Production cars of the above period. And, again, Jack Griffith was selling cars, and I imagine that if he sold enough Griffith 200’s that then he could built the Griffith 400 and maybe enter racing, but the fire that stifled production at Blackpool, England and the East Coast dock strike economically ruin Jack Griffith’s car company. He tried a heavy steel bodied car that never raced and called it the Griffith 600. He couldn’t get the Ford V/8’s and put a 273 Chrysler small V/8 in it, the new suspension was inadequate, and he built eight or ten and that ended the company.
My wife and I met Jack Griffith and his wife Marge (RIP) at the 2011 Amelia Island Concourse D Elegance, along with a host of other Griffith car family members. You can see the event on U-tube. Jack was quite a character. He was smart, astute, and very public relations oriented. I had run for Governor of California in 2010, and when he signed his autograph on my program booklet he wrote,” To the real Governor of California.” And, of course, that made my day. Yes, Jack was quite a man.
In conclusion, God willing, I am going to write a book on my Griffith 400 and how with all the sport cars in California the Lord Almighty through His son Christ Jesus gave me the wisdom (the Bible scriptures tell me if I want WISDOM to ask God for it and He will give to anyone abundantly) to try a 1965, Shelby AC Cobra at Shelby’s shop in Los Angeles and not buy it for the ride was extremely hard and, at the time, it had no top! I asked the salesman,”Where is the top to deal with the rain?” He answered, ” This is a car for California; when it rains you don’t drive it.” In terms of long distance travel comfort the Griffith 400 was a dream, and I drove it from Lavonia, Michigan to Los Angeles, California; almost 2150 miles. And today she is as beautiful as ever in our garage. Yes, Jack Griffith created a A Production Champion!