20 rarities at London Concours 2023

City stunners

More than 100 beautiful, unique or just darn right weird cars descended upon the Honourable Artillery Company’s lawn in central London on 6-8 June 2023 for the seventh running of the London Concours.

The cars were grouped into nine concours classes, and the event saw traditional collector themes like Golden Age Coupés and 60 years of Lamborghini, as well as more esoteric collections like the low-volume Bespoke Automotive class and the entirely colour-based Make Green Great Again.

Here are 20 of our favourite classic cars from the event. 
 

1. 1970 Plymouth Superbird

Based on Plymouth’s Warner Bros tie-in with the Looney Tunes animation, the Road Runner, the Superbird served to homologate a more aerodynamic version of the car in 1970, with a nose cone and huge rear spoiler.

It was part of an aerodynamic arms race that first took hold of NASCAR in 1969, and such a tall spoiler was desired to reach clean air above the car – although it was actually made even taller still, so that the boot could open fully without hitting the wing.
 

2. 1966 Jensen CV8

A 1960s hybrid, the CV8 combined a British body with American power, in the form of a 6.3-litre Chrysler V8.

Though similar in stature and appearance to a Bristol, Alvis or even two-door Bentley, the Jensen’s massive engine gave it an impressive 0-60mph time of 6.7 secs.

This car is among the final CV8s built, the company switching to the more famous Interceptor the same year.

3. 1921 Leyat Hélica

The bizarre-looking Hélica was Marcel Leyat’s attempt to build a simpler car that did not require a gearbox, clutch or rear axle.

Only 30 of the propeller-driven cars were built, of which two remain, both in France.

This is an exacting copy of one of those two survivors, making use of a 1921 ABC Scorpion engine.

4. 1972 Lancia Fulvia Zagato

Familiar to viewers of the Harry’s Garage YouTube channel, Harry Metcalfe’s Fulvia Zagato is a car he saw outside his parents house on The Wirral in the 1973 and inspired his love of his cars.

He bought this example 50 years later and has just finished restoring the rare Lancia, returning it to its original colour scheme in the process.

5. 1975 Monteverdi 375L High Speed Fissore

One of the few post-war cars built in Switzerland, the Monterverdi resulted from a disagreement between a Swiss Ferrari importer and the Maranello outfit that inspired Peter Monteverdi to build his own car.

Its 7.2-litre Chrysler V8 gives 375bhp and around 80 were built.
 

6. 1991 Lamborghini LM002

Until the Urus of 2017, Lamborghini’s sole SUV had been the outrageous LM002 – and it remains the only time Sant’Agata has put its flagship V12 engine in anything other than a two-door coupé.

A failed military project aimed at the US Army with Marcello Gandini styling, just 301 LM002s were built.

7. 1973 Peugeot 504 Break Riviera

A car that will be familiar to regular Classic & Sports Car readers because it appeared in our October 2022 issue, this Peugeot 504 is a replica of the Break Riviera concept Peugeot displayed at the 1971 Geneva show, that’s since been lost.

Based on a 504 Cabriolet, the rear of the car was a bespoke build for this new car, which includes a modified interior, too. 

8. 1991 Schuppan 962CR P1

With the ambition to make roadgoing versions of the Porsche 956/962 Le Mans car, Shuppan built this prototype out of a car that had competed in the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Only six were built and this car won Best in Show at London Concours 2023.

9. 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray

The Corvette Stingray’s designers famously convinced GM to allow them to put the car’s expensive split rear window into production – but only for one year.

The ’63 Corvette coupé has since become by far the most collectible C2 as a result, and this is a rare surviving example with the desirable manual transmission.

10. 1957 BMW 507

Just 252 BMW 507s were built, the sporting model of BMW’s 50-series proving just as expensive, hard to sell and unprofitable as the other cars it shared its V8 engine with.

Financial business aside, however, the cars were beautiful and coveted by celebrities, with Elvis Presley and John Surtees among former owners.

This 507 is rare, being, likely, the only model delivered to Venezuela when new, although it never sold, eventually finding its first owner in France.

11. 1990 De Tomaso Pantera

Though it appeared as a sleek, lithe coupé in 1971, the De Tomaso Pantera had a long life that saw it gain more aerodynamic appendages as the years progressed, growing into the outrageously styled Pantera GT5-S.

Succeeding the GT5, it incorporated that car’s glassfibre wheelarch extensions into the main steel bodywork.

Just 183 were built.

12. Jaguar E-type ZP ECD 1

Jaguar Classic unveiled two new E-type restorations at London Concours 2023, called the ZP Collection.

The cars, of which 14 will be made, replicate the specification of two of the most famous racing E-types.

Seven dark-blue cabriolets pay homage to Graham Hill’s E-type, ECD 400, in which he was victorious at Oulton Park in 1961, on the model’s race debut, while seven grey coupés emulate Roy Salvadori’s car that placed third in the same race, BUY 1.

13. 1971 Matra Beach Buggy

With VW Beetle-based beach buggies proving popular throughout the 1960s, Bertone created this fully functioning concept of a buggy that started life as a Simca 1200S which, like the VW, was rear-engined.

Matra was impressed enough to build two prototypes of its own based on the design, but it never reached production, despite promising performance from the Simca’s 1.2-litre engine.

14. 1998 Land Rover Defender 90 Wolf

Celebrating Land Rover’s 75th year, London Concours 2023 hosted a non-judged display of the marque’s Series/Defender vehicles.

For this, the Honourable Artillery Company was able to display one of its own vehicles, a 1998 Defender 90 Wolf.

The car is still used for leading gun salutes in parades and for towing ceremonial artillery pieces.

15. 1960/2017 Porsche 356 Zagato Coupé

Not known for working on German machinery, Zagato rebodied a single Porsche 356 in 1957 and, although it was later destroyed in a crash, plans were made for a further series of Zagato 356s, with Porsche approving the idea.

The cars were never built, however, until 2015, when Zagato decided to build nine examples using the design drawings the firm still had in storage.

This is car number eight of the nine produced and is based on a 1960 356 BT5.

16. 1962 Facel Vega Facel II

Another European marque to build a car around a big Chrysler V8, Facel Vega combined glamorous French bodywork with fantastically ornate, aviation-inspired interiors.

The Facel II was the culmination of the company’s large V8 models, and this 1962 example is one of only two right-hand-drive cars built with the large 6.7-litre engine and a manual gearbox.

It was Facel Vega’s 1962 Earls Court Motor Show car.

17. 1961 WSM Austin-Healey 3000

Having suffered a crash at Silverstone in 1964, this Austin-Healey 3000 was handed over to WSM which designed an aerodynamic steel body for it, and it went on to have success rallying until the early 1970s.

It was laid up from then until the present owner began restoring the car 12 years ago, London Concours 2023 being its first post-resto public outing.

18. 1993 BMW 850CSi

The early ’90s saw a trend for adventurously coloured interiors, with rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz both offering high-cost interior trim packages in colour schemes not usually seen in cars.

This 850CSi is one such car, with a unique, special-order Ice Blue and Champagne leather interior that cost £13,000 – just £1000 short of what BMW would sell you an entire 3 Series for at the same time.

19. 1962/2023 Crayford Mini Mojito Beach Car

BMC built fewer than 20 special beach-car Minis in the early 1960s, largely for PR purposes, directly inspired by the Fiat 500/600 Jolly.

The conversion, which featured a metal roof supported only by the A- and C-pillars, was also one of Dick Burzi’s final designs for BMC.

Inspired by those cars, the recently relaunched Crayford has built this Mojito. Based on a 1962 Mini, it sports teak flooring and a fabric roof much like that of the Fiat 500 Jolly.

20. 1969 Lamborghini Islero S

Though the Miura brought Lamborghini fame, founder Ferruccio Lamborghini felt it was too racy-looking for a middle-aged businessman like himself, so continued producing a line of front-engined GT coupés, even though they never proved big sellers.

The Islero replaced the 400GT in this tradition, and the S improved the car further.

Just 100 examples of the Islero S were built, out of a total 225 Isleros.

Like what you’ve seen? London Concours will be back in 2024 on 4-6 June – get it in your diary.