London Classic Car Show - Anyone been yet?
Discussion
I was there earlier today.
It's in one hall, the Boat show is in the other halls, took me no more than 2 hours to see everything, (apart from the James May 'Cars that changed the world' area - the queue was too long). Majority of the exhibitors were dealers and auction houses, albeit with some very nice stock, very few owners clubs and run of the mill classics.
Not sure I could justify the journey unless you have free tickets, I didn't think there was enough to see unlike the NEC where you could spend the best part of a day, oh and take food and drink with you if taking kids!
It's in one hall, the Boat show is in the other halls, took me no more than 2 hours to see everything, (apart from the James May 'Cars that changed the world' area - the queue was too long). Majority of the exhibitors were dealers and auction houses, albeit with some very nice stock, very few owners clubs and run of the mill classics.
Not sure I could justify the journey unless you have free tickets, I didn't think there was enough to see unlike the NEC where you could spend the best part of a day, oh and take food and drink with you if taking kids!
Sadly that's kind of what I was expecting. Be interested to hear other people's views.
For the first time in several years I missed the NEC back in November but I think I'll give this a miss. It looks very commercial. There's a Practical Classics how at the NEC in March which I might try. http://www.necrestorationshow.com/
For the first time in several years I missed the NEC back in November but I think I'll give this a miss. It looks very commercial. There's a Practical Classics how at the NEC in March which I might try. http://www.necrestorationshow.com/
I went, thankfully I bought a ticket for after 2pm entry so "only" spent £15.
If you have a couple of hundred grand to drop on a classic, you might enjoy it. Otherwise, you'll be in and out in less than 3 hours.
The exhibition asks that you don't name the climax car in the James May exhibition, but its a thinly veiled joke and quite frankly my opinion of a guy that I thought was meant to be a proper car guy went down the pan today.
Simply put, unless you have a free ticket, or you have the aforementioned cash, don't waste your time or money, you'll see nothing new or exciting.
If you have a couple of hundred grand to drop on a classic, you might enjoy it. Otherwise, you'll be in and out in less than 3 hours.
The exhibition asks that you don't name the climax car in the James May exhibition, but its a thinly veiled joke and quite frankly my opinion of a guy that I thought was meant to be a proper car guy went down the pan today.
Simply put, unless you have a free ticket, or you have the aforementioned cash, don't waste your time or money, you'll see nothing new or exciting.
I was there last night for the opening; echoing earlier comments it didnt take long to see everything, but it satisfied my lust for the F1 GTR with 2 on show - the Harrods Mclaren F1 GTR that came 3rd at Le Mans in 1995 and has since been converted for road use, and Adrian Newey's personal F1 GTR.
Oh dear. I didn't like the way it was advertised - a show aimed at enthusiasts shouldn't rely so heavily on tenuous celebrity car stuff - but decided to buy afternoon tickets for tomorrow (Sat) after reading about some of the cars lined up and deciding I didn't mind paying too much to see them.
Oh well, I'll try to enjoy it. At least I should be able to get around it all.
Oh well, I'll try to enjoy it. At least I should be able to get around it all.
I went yesterday afternoon and it was pretty disappointing and not worth the money. They are trying to do an upmarket show with some lovely cars mostly from dealers but it only takes about an hour to see it all (if that). The central driving arena was a bit of a gimmick and there is a massive bottleneck at the end which means you have to queue/ barge to get from one side of the hall to the other. Also there are no bars available unless you have a premium ticket.
Whatever you do don't queue for the James May exhibition - it's cr@p!
Whatever you do don't queue for the James May exhibition - it's cr@p!
It seems like I enjoyed it more than most. I know it was really just a large, temporary dealership for those with deep pockets, but a good portion of the cars there were beyond fantastic - the Bentley Peterson 6½-Litre Special and the Bentley Continental La Sarthe.
I agree that the James May thing was crap, but the only other thing that irked me was the Grand Avenue. While it was nice to see the cars driving (and I got some nice videos of the F1 cars), it did mean that you couldn't get close to them for a long period of time and they were almost impossible to photograph as they were driving, what with the artificial lighting and all that.
I will give the event the undesirable Worst Public accolade, although that's not the organisers' fault. The last people you want at a somewhat cramped car show are Londoners and foreigners, as they seem to be on a mission to walk in front of your camera, and, as I predicted, a large percentage of attendants were Hugos with money where their brains should be who just treated the event as a social gathering. Credit to them for bringing along some good trophy girlfriends, though.
I agree that the James May thing was crap, but the only other thing that irked me was the Grand Avenue. While it was nice to see the cars driving (and I got some nice videos of the F1 cars), it did mean that you couldn't get close to them for a long period of time and they were almost impossible to photograph as they were driving, what with the artificial lighting and all that.
I will give the event the undesirable Worst Public accolade, although that's not the organisers' fault. The last people you want at a somewhat cramped car show are Londoners and foreigners, as they seem to be on a mission to walk in front of your camera, and, as I predicted, a large percentage of attendants were Hugos with money where their brains should be who just treated the event as a social gathering. Credit to them for bringing along some good trophy girlfriends, though.
Well it took us about 2 hours to wander around and see it all (apart from James May, due to aforementioned queues), which if I hadn't got cheap tickets I'd be somewhat miffed at. It was more of a giant marketplace but it was nice to see some different cars, particularly the 30s "giant" cars (for want of a better description). Talked to some bloke whilst eating lunch and scored some free tickets to the boat show, so that filled the rest of the day!
RichB said:
Bob Petersen have stand there or was it Bonhoms?
It was for sale with Vintage & Prestige for £440,000 (contrary to the price on the website): http://www.vintagerollsroycecars.com/car-details/b...I went in the James May thing at the end, by which time you could walk straight in.
MrHorsepower said:
RichB said:
Bob Petersen have stand there or was it Bonhoms?
It was for sale with Vintage & Prestige for £440,000 (contrary to the price on the website): http://www.vintagerollsroycecars.com/car-details/b...
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