Rare concepts and one-offs head to London Concours

By Ryan Standen
News
 | 8 Jun 2022
Classic & Sports Car - Rare concepts and one-offs head to London Concours

Cars by Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Rolls-Royce and more will compete in the ‘Coachbuilt & Concepts’ class at the London Concours on 28-30 June.

The sixth running of this event sees it return to the Honourable Artillery Company in the City of London.

The cars will join an already compelling line-up including some stunning supercars in the ‘Pursuit of Speed’ class, and an elegant display of drop-tops in the ‘Italian Spiders’ category.

The most recently revealed class will showcase cars which never made it into production, as well as some unique customer commissions.

Classic & Sports Car - Rare concepts and one-offs head to London Concours

A 1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS will be on display at this month’s London Concours

Included in the line-up is a 1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS.

Styled by Zagato with racing in mind, this car was campaigned successfully by Swedish Formula One and sports-car racer Joakim ‘Jo’ Bonnier.

The Alfa Romeo will be joined by the unique Lotus Elan Shooting Brake, affectionately known as the Estralle.

This car left the factory as a 1974 +2S 130/5 coupé, but inspired by sketches from Lotus designer Ron Hickman of a model which never made production, now recently retired Lotus specialist Paul Matty Sports Cars oversaw this car’s transformation.

Classic & Sports Car - Rare concepts and one-offs head to London Concours

The London Concours on 28-30 June will be a rare chance to see a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow pick-up

The aluminium roof was made by Shapecraft (famous for producing the fastback Elans in the ’60s) and bonded to the glassfibre body, while Pilkington produced the new glass windows.

Three years of hard work and dedication culminated in this eye-catching, one-off estate, which would not have looked out of place had it left the factory doors at Hethel.

It will surely turn heads at London Concours this month.

Classic & Sports Car - Rare concepts and one-offs head to London Concours

Mercedes’ F200 Imagination was unveiled at the 1996 Paris motor show

Another interesting car in attendance will be a unique Rolls-Royce pick-up.

When the owner of a 1967 Silver Shadow required something a little more practical, Essex-based firm Clark & Carter was happy to oblige by transforming the Rolls-Royce into this tasteful one-off.

The work has been carried out with apparently scrupulous attention to detail, including ‘pick-up’ badges emulating the font used by the factory.

Classic & Sports Car - Rare concepts and one-offs head to London Concours

The F200 previewed the technology coming to Mercedes’ S- and CL-Class models

Also on display will be the sole working example of the Mercedes-Benz F200 Imagination concept car.

The world was first introduced to the F200 at the 1996 Paris motor show, where it was unveiled to showcase Mercedes’ latest advances in design and technology.

More than two decades on, many of the ideas that made their debut on the F200 – such as rear-view cameras and voice recognition – are now commonplace on many of today’s cars.

Classic & Sports Car - Rare concepts and one-offs head to London Concours

The Jaguar XK180 was built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic XK120

Two years after that Mercedes’ debut, Jaguar revealed its XK180 concept car also in the French capital.

Its release was timed to celebrate the XK120’s half-century, and to demonstrate the marque’s design and engineering prowess as the 2000s beckoned.

Alongside these well-established brands will be the more obscure Ronart Lightning V8, a 230bhp car launched in 1999 of which just six were built – number five will be at London Concours.

These will be joined in this eclectic class by a 1982 BMW 635CSi Observer Coupé, a Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 Crayford and a 2018 Ferrari SP3 JC.

Classic & Sports Car - Rare concepts and one-offs head to London Concours

Returning on 28-30 June, the London Concours fills its five-acre plot with a mouth-watering variety of cars

“This class celebrates rarity and exclusivity by focusing on the unique projects and collaborations that captivate the car world,” said Andrew Evans, London Concours Director.

“We have gathered an eclectic grouping of one-off concepts, prototypes and unique customer commissions that were created either by design or by circumstance, but which ultimately never made it into full-scale factory production.”

The London Concours is on 28-30 June at the Honourable Artillery Company with tickets priced from £35 – and as a Classic & Sports Car reader, you can save money and get 2-for-1 tickets with our exclusive offer.

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Ryan Standen

Ryan Standen is Classic & Sports Car’s Editorial Assistant