Classic & Sportscar Show

0

Showtime

There was a time when car shows in the UK were in distinctly short supply after the demise of the Motor Show at Earls Court. But slowly the ability of petrolheads to get their fix has been met by more specialist shows and a plethora of open air events.

Now the Goodwood Festival of Speed sits at the top of the tree and successfully combining a car show with motorsport event in a format that surprisingly hasn’t been picked up elsewhere. Race fans can get a further dose at the Autosport Show in January and classic car aficionados now have two bites of the cherry with the London Classic Car Show at Excel around February and in October the Classic and Sports Car Show at, it has to be said, a rather more novel venue, Alexandra Palace in North London.

Needing no excuse, Torque took the trip to Ally Pally to have a nose around.

Lovely to see Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis reunited with his Jaguear XJ13, both it has to be said, looking remarkably good for their age! Also good to see John Surtees there announcing the winner of the Century of Supercars poll, the Mclaren P1. For us we think the original McLaren F1 still is head and shoulders above the rest.

Showtime – Classic & Sportscar Show from NGK Torque on Vimeo.

Anyway, lots of lovely motors were on show for sure, but it did seem a little limited with mainly what seemed to us displays comprising of Astons, Bentleys and of course a strong showing from Italy, we spotted at least three 512 Boxers, apart from assorted Lambos. Porsche fans however were fairly poorly served and at the affordable end of the scale (if such a things exists in the classic car market today), barely nothing at all with the odd TR and not even one MG.

They also had classic car parades on the road running round the venue, but seemingly restrained to the 20mph limit they could do little to light the imagination though the six wheel Tyrell F1 did its best.

Bearing in mind how popular the publication is, it seems strange that the show is not more representative of the magazine’s content. But maybe it’s early days and the momentum has yet to build.

But just in case you weren’t able to make the trip, we’ve got a taster of what was on offer and maybe enough to tempt you along next year.

Tags: , Published on 31st October 2016