The London Concours is an automotive garden party in the heart of the city, gathering together nearly 100 motoring icons, old and new, in one of London’s most beautiful historic hidden venues, the HAC (Honourable Artillery Company) estate. The cars sit at the apex of an event brimming with fine champagne and world-class gastronomy, enjoyed with a live music soundtrack and surrounded by pop-up boutiques from sought-after luxury brands. Held across three days, the London Concours opens up the world of top-end craftsmanship in automotive and beyond, with live panel discussions, awards ceremonies and roving comperes, shining a spotlight on the passion and the heritage of the brands and vehicles on display. It is truly a wonderful event for anyone with a passion for cars.
In 2024 the London Concours had nine concours classes, namely Great British Racing, The Legendary V12, The Hypercars, Carnaby Street, Coachbuilt Greats – Zagato, Purple Reign, Corvette – A Design Icon, Areo – Front Enlightened and Wild Cards
Here we look at the Concours Class: The Wild cards
Some cars are simply too unique and idiosyncratic to be confined to the criteria of the London Concours feature classes. This is where our Wildcards come in; a display of truly rare and spectacular cars that exemplify the diversity of the automotive scene, each with their own specialities and story to be told.
The cars on show:
1958 Chevrolet Corvette C1
The Corvette may be the ‘all-American sports car’, but it owes its creation to the continental tastes of General Motors styling supremo Harley Earl. He loved European roadsters, and believed there was a market for a cheaper, maximum-bang-for-your-buck sports car from America. After his Corvette prototype was first shown to the public at the January 1953 GM Motorama at New York’s Waldorf Astoria, it was rushed into production only a matter of months later. The car wore a then- novel glassfibre body and was powered by a 150bhp six-cylinder engine. This ’Vette is unique – it’s the only C1 in ‘root beer’ paint, and has had a £100k restoration. It comes from previous celebrity ownership, and was voted Best in Class at a California classic car event in 2020.
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1958 Mercedes-Benz 220 S ‘Ponton’ Cabriolet
With its pontoon-like sides, the 220 marked the debut of Mercedes-Benz’s uni-bodies and set a new standard for structural integrity and design innovation. In 1958, the 220 S Cabriolet brought refinements such as a silken 2.2-litre inline-six with twin carbs.This 220 S is an original UK RHD car with under 100,000 miles on the clock and matching numbers. The previous owner bought it in the 1970s, drove it until 2012 and then laid it up in storage. It was finally recommissioned in 2019. The current owner acquired it in September 2020, and subjected it to an extensive nut-and-bolt restoration carried out by Templar Classics in Buckinghamshire.
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1961 Jaguar E-Type S1 ‘Pinto’
One of Portugal’s first E-types, 3.8-litre Series 1 roadster no. 875807 was delivered in October 1961 via official importer Martins & Almeida of Lisbon and the dealer João Gaspar. Its first owner, Manuel ‘Mané’ Nogueira Pinto of Porto, belonged to a prominent racing family, and during 1962-63 he took several victories and podiums. In subsequent years, 875807 was owned by several people in Portugal, and in 2011 it had a nut-and bolt restoration. It now looks how it raced in its heyday, with its white lipstick and
open boot lid, and retains its matching-numbers engine, gearbox, diff, engine frames and trim.
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1965 Costin-Nathan Prototype
The prototype Costin- Nathan, no. 66-020, was built mainly in North Wales by Frank Costin in 1965. It was used for the Dorchester Hotel press debut, despite being finished only that day. This car was very
competitive, setting five lap records and winning five races in its first five outings. It won the Coupes de Paris against Abarth opposition. After the 1966 season it was acquired by Geoffrey Horsley, who kept it
until his passing in 2016. It wasn’t stored well, spending 49 years in an unheated garage. The Costin-Nathan was then acquired by a US owner, who took it to Roger Nathan for a full restoration. The car was displayed at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu for two years.
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1966 Iso Grifo GL350
This Grifo was ordered from concessionaire Trojan Motors by the Eton Motor Group, and arrived in the UK on June 15, 1966. Its history until 1984 is opaque, but early on it was upgraded to GL350 five-speed spec, with a 350bhp L79 engine and ZF S5-325 ’box. The original motor and trans were transplanted into the 1964 Iso Rivolta GT four-carb Earls Court Motor Show car, and concurrently the 3.31:1 diff from that car was fitted to this Grifo. In 1984, Bill Dick, a collector of weird and wonderful cars, bought the Grifo and re-registered it on its current plate. The current owner bought it from Bill as a scruffy non-runner in 1986. He then restored the GL350 on and off, as resources would allow, and he finished the restoration last summer.
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1974 Porsche 911 RSR Art Car
This race-ready 1974 Porsche RSR by Tuthill was painted by a famed Chicago – but living in Los Angeles – artist called Lefty, aka Francesco Campanella. It was built to spec to race in the Peter Auto series in Europe, in events such as Le Mans Classic and Spa Classic. It was an amazing project that came to life
in 12 days. The car was purchased in Silverstone, resprayed white, serviced and flown to Los Angeles. Within those 12 days, the hand-painted artwork was completed, and the car was driven seven hours north for its launch at Monterey Car Week. Safe to say, it turned heads…
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1977 Jaguar XJC
The first-generation XJ was on sale for no fewer than 24 years, with two major facelifts along the way. The 1973 Series II spawned the two-door XJC between 1975 and 1978; power came from either a 4.2-litre straightsix or a 5.3 V12.
This XJC was formerly owned by Ian Callum CBE, who after a long search for a good base car, eventually found one in France in 2014. He duly embarked on a full restoration, including
conversion to RHD, and added personal design touches such as the dash, special wheels and bullet wing mirrors.
The XJC has been featured at various shows and social media channels. Having enjoyed it as a daily driver, Ian passed it onto its current owner.
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1982 Lotus Esprit – Bond Replica
The first Turbo Esprits came in the blue livery of Essex Petroleum, sponsor of Lotus F1 at the time. However, they soon appeared in other colours; in fact, there were two Lotus press cars in this livery of Monaco White with red decals. One such model appeared in 007 film For Your Eyes Only – albeit only briefly, before it suffered an explosive fate and James Bond’s car was replaced with a copper-bronze model with skis attached. The Esprit seen at the concours has undergone an extensive body restoration, but the red leather trim is original. It is a ruched style, which designer Giorgetto Giugiaro specified for the Turbo at the time, yet was not applied to many cars. It also has the rare roof- mounted stereo, which was a factory option. The car’s mechanicals have been restored to factory condition, although certain aspects such as the transmission exceed the original specs
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2007 TVR Scamander Amphibious
Conceived by former TVR boss Peter Wheeler to blend on- and off-road prowess, the Scamander Amphibious is perhaps the ultimate ‘wild card’. Three seats sit beneath a sliding canopy inside an elongated body that’s half hull, half aircraft fuselage. Initially using a modest 2.0-litre engine, it later got a mid-mounted 275hp Ford V6 feeding power to the rear through an automatic gearbox. To compensate for the lack of four-wheel drive in a vehicle that was designed to cross moorland, Peter used tall, bespoke, 21in rims and 35in tyres. With help from Evo founder and YouTuber Harry Metcalfe, the Scamander has recently been recommissioned after 12 years lying dormant.
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I hope you liked our article. What is your favourite car here?
