Vote for your favourite classic car designers

If you’re at Bicester Motion on 4 October for the Scramble, come and find us on the Blenheim Lawn, where Classic & Sports Car will showcase history’s best car designers as chosen by you – and then it is time to pick a winner.

From the eight finalists, attendees will be able to vote for the People’s Choice Award, and we’re asking the experts, because we’ve invited Julian Thomson and members of General Motors’ UK-based Advanced Design team to pick their favourite, too.

Designer Julian Thomson will help us pick the greatest classic car stylist

Art is subjective, and what is beautiful to some might not be to others. Therefore, this competition is likely to cause some light-hearted debate.

Our list features some of those credited with the most showstopping classic cars, from Malcolm Sayer’s curvy Jaguar E-type to Leonardo Fioravanti’s striking Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona. All-time greats like Giorgetto Giugiaro, Marcello Gandini and Giuseppe Figoni are there, plus some perhaps overlooked people.

You might notice that a few big names like Alec Issignois don’t appear on the shortlist; the man behind the Mini created an undeniably significant vehicle, but famously prioritised function over form.

It is also important to remember that lots of cars were not the work of a single person. Many times a team – in-house or at a styling firm like Pininfarina – assisted behind the scenes.

For our contest, we will attribute a car to an individual, but, where appropriate, acknowledge and celebrate all those who contributed.

General admission to the 4 October Scramble at Bicester Motion is sold out, however, you can still buy a ticket bundle, which includes entry to the event and a special-edition T-shirt to mark 100 years of the former RAF base’s Technical Site. Click here to buy yours. You’ll need to be quick, though: this limited offer is only available until midnight on 31 August 2026.

Thanks to: Bicester Motion; Scramblers

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