The London Concours 2023: Wild Cards Concours Class

It has taken me a while to get this post done, almost a year (doh!), as life is busy. I always seem to have several videos to upload to our YouTube channel. Anyway, here’s a video and pictures from the London Concours 2023, that was again held at the beautiful and historic Honourable Artillery Company estate in London. I attended on the 6th June 2023 which was the VIP, Press & owners day, and what a day.

You can see here our favourite pictures from the wonderful London Concours 2023. All of our photos are here on our Facebook Album here.

The Concours Classes in 2023 were:

Make green great again | Grand tourisme | Evolution of Aero | Golden-age coupes | Bespoke automotive | Built to race for the road | 60 years of Lamborghini | Wild cards

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I took videos as I walked around each concours class. Here I want to focus on the Wild cards concours class. You can see our video walk around the other classes by clicking on the links above or visiting our dedicated London Concours playlist on YouTube.

Here are the cars that featured in the Wild cards concours class.

1959 Chevrolet Corvette C1

The Corvette owes its birth to Harley Earl, GM’s styling boss. He’d noticed that Gls were returning from Europe with a yearning for roadsters from the likes of Jaguar, Alfa and MG-and he convinced his superiors that GM     needed a car to compete.  The Corvette was born.

This C1 was built in St Louis, Missouri. All the major components are original, with the exception of the 283ci small-block engine which was replaced with a 327ci at some point.  It’s now producing 300bhp. 

The two previous owners lived in New Mexico.  Since then it has received a respray and leather retrim, along with stainless-steel exhausts and radial tyres.

1957 BMW 507

Sporting the chassis number 70239, this 507 series 2 roadster was recently restored by Rock ‘n Roll Automotive in Belgium, from whom the car was purchased.

When new the BMW was sent to Venezuela, where it remained unsold, then France and finally the US, where it resided in Malibu throughout the 1970s and ’80s. After this, it was exported back to Europe, where it had two owners before the present one.

The 507 has been painstakingly restored to its original specification,with parts being sourced from BMW Classic in Munich. The revered heritage outfit has also certified all of the work carried out, and has provided the car’s owner with a lot of information – but sadly, because this is all in German, the owner has yet to translate it.

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1972 Lancia Fulvia Zagato

This Lancia Fulvia Zagato was first registered in December 1972, to the owner of Corner Garage, Greasby on The Wirral. Corner Garage was an Italian auto specialist located close to where the model’s now-owner Harry Metcalfe grew up.

He blames the Fulvia Zagato for his interest in cars, after spotting one of them outside his parents’ house, belonging to a visitor. Harry didn’t get to drive one until 2018, however, when a local classic car dealer had recently taken in a black 1600 example. He later discovered that the Lancia had originally been painted red – and had been owned by the very person visiting his parents that day back in 1973.

Harry bought the car,and set about a two-year restoration to bring it back to the condition it was 50 years ago.

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1921 Layat Helica

Marcel Leyat founded his automobile business back in 1919, on the Quai de Grenelle, Paris. As a pioneer aviator and engineer, he understood the importance of both aerodynamics and reducing weight. These principles, along with simplicity, would be the mantra for the design of the Leyat Hélica. The model had no transmission,rear axle or clutch, which meant improved reliability and reduced manufacturing costs.

The elegance of the ply fuselage and the attention to detail are testament to Marcel’s flare for design.

Of the 30 cars made by Leyat, only two original examples still exist-both of them still in France. This Hélica was copied from the original car now in Paris’s Musée des Arts et Métiers. It features an ABC Scorpion engine from 1921.

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1971 Jensen FF MkII

The FF is a ground-breaking car. Not only was it the first non-all-terrain production model fitted with four-wheel drive, but it was also the first car to feature an anti-lock braking system.

This example’s original owner was James Fattorini, vice chairman of Bradford’s Empire Stores.  Footballer and dentist Lance Robson and his wife also had it, selling it in 2002.

The current keeper acquired it in 2006, via eBay “after a few glasses of wine”. It had unfortunately been in a major accident-and fixing that, plus some earlier restoration woes, means it has only just emerged from being brought back to life.

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1971 Monteverdi 375L High Speed Fissore

Swiss Ferrari importer Peter Monteverdi had fallen out with Enzo Ferrari over the need to buy 100 cars up front in 1965 – so he set out to build the reliable luxury GT his customers wanted.

The result was the 375L High Speed,with its Fissore-built body clothing a 375bhp 7.2-litre Chrysler V8. This particular car, number 54 of around 8o built, was sold new to the owner of a German TV and radio company. It spent some years in a Swiss collection before being acquired by a British ex-pat in Switzerland. It has now come to the UK, and still wears Hai 450 GTS-style red-over-black paint.

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1993 BMW 850 CSi

BMW has never officially made an M8 other than a prototype, but the 850 CSi comes closest. Its 375bhp 5.6-litre V12 carries the special ‘S’ moniker usually reserved for M-developed engines.

This 850 CSi is no. 16 of 160 right-hand-drive built, and is the only example to have BMW Individual paint and trim. It was ordered in Special Order Aqua Metallic with exclusive Special Upholstery-Ice Blue with Champagne leather.

It has an Alcantara roof lining, and leather on the dash, centre console, parcel shelf and seats, along with a hide colour-matched phone and even a leather-lined ashtray. This interior option cost £13,000 extra, with the car’s total price being £96,000. It has done 39,000 miles.

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1975 Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2

The 365GT4 2+2 may have been familiar on paper, with a V12 up front and Pininfarina on pen duty, but this elegant GT was a marked change from its curvy predecessors.

The elegant, angular shape would live for 15 years, wearing several names.

This Ferrari was delivered new to Germany in right-hand drive, and would spend most of its life in Europe before coming to the UK in 2017, whereupon it entered storage.

The current owner is part of the storage team; when the car was put up for sale in 2021, he bought it. It’s spent the past two years being mechanically overhauled and retrimmed.

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1985 Ferrari Testarossa

Defining the 1980s supercar look, when the Testarossa was launched in 1984 it blew the world away with its side strakes. Although obviously dramatic, they were entirely functional.

Its 512BBi predecessor struggled to keep occupants cool,because the front radiator meant hot water had to pass the cabin. By using strakes,air could get to the flat-12 without cooking the driver. They nearly didn’t happen- Ferrari feared the Testarossa wouldn’t pass US crash regs-but they ended up being a defining feature.

Over 12 years, just under 10,000 examples would be built; this is an early model, with magnesium single-bolt ‘knock-off’ wheels. Its conversion into a Targa makes it extra special.

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1999 Bentley Continental Sedanca Coupe

The Continental R shocked the world on its debut in 1991, with its Geneva Motor Show reveal upstaging several major launches.

It’d be continually developed for a decade, with the short-wheelbase     T offering 4oobhp to begin with, which grew over time.

The Sedanca Coupé (SC) was conceived to pay homage to Bentley’s past, and included lift-out glass sunroof panels. The marque built a mere 73 SCs, and Mulliner made a further six; 26 were right-hand drive.

Only two examples wore this colour, with this the sole RHD model.  Bentley used it to market the car, as can be seen in contemporary videos on YouTube.

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The London Concours was a thoroughly enjoyable show as it has been every year that I have attended.  It was also really good to award five of our readers, a pair of tickets each to attend the show, as they won a pair of tickets by entering our competition. Do make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter (click on the link below) and following us on social media (links below) so you don’t miss out on future competitions.

See you around.

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