The London Classic Car Show revs into action this weekend, bringing together hundreds of retro road and racing cars at Olympia in Kensington.
Along with ‘the very best dealers, manufacturers, restorers and car clubs’ under one roof, the organisers promise a number of curated displays, along with celebrity interviews and live music on the main stage.
The show takes place from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th February 2023, with adult tickets priced at £27.50 in advance or £32.50 on the day. Here’s what else you need to know.
Auction action
The first London Classic Car Show was at Excel in 2014, and the event has since become a fixture of the motoring calendar. It relocated to the magnificent Victorian halls at Olympia in 2020, then temporarily to Syon Park in West London last year, in order to provide an outdoor, Covid-safe setting.
Now back at Olympia, one highlight of this year’s show is the live Historics auction on Saturday 25 February, with 100 collectable cars set to cross the block.
The eclectic mix of consignments so far includes an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, Triumph TR3A, Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2, MGC GT and a drop-top Jaguar XJS-C.
Happy anniversaries
The London Classic Car Show also features a variety of special displays. The ’60 years of the Porsche 911′ gathering includes everything from a rare 1963 901 (built before Peugeot forced Porsche to change the car’s name) to a brand new 992. There’s also a ’70 years of Corvette’ display, showcasing all eight generations of America’s sports car.
Elsewhere, ‘Fortysomethings’ pulls together cars that have recently hit the big 4-0 and qualified for free road tax, including the BMW M635 CSi, Lotus Excel, Porsche 944 and Mk2 Volkswagen Golf GTI. Oh, and the Lancia 037 Stradale – but if you can afford one of those, a few hundred quid on road tax is probably a minor concern.
Lastly, we’re keen to check out ‘Endangered Species’, which features once-popular cars, such as the Austin Metro, that have almost vanished from our roads.
How to get there
Advance tickets for the London Classic Car Show can be purchased from the official website, priced at £27.50 for an adult or £22 for a child under 16. Children aged under five go free.
The easiest way to reach the show is via overground train or tube to Kensington (Olympia) station. The venue is also a short walk from West Kensington and Barons Court underground stations.
If you decide to drive, please note Kensington is within the London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). Parking at the venue costs £25 for up to six hours, or £40 for a full day.
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Really poor overpriced show. Lots of empty space. Really just a cars for sale event. Worst I’ve been to for years.
Don’t expect much. A few nice Astons but very few classic cars. Mainly dealers selling their water. Very very disappointing.
Won’t be bothering again.
I was just about to book tickets for tomorrow, however having read these comments, I don’t believe I’ll bother now.
What a disappointment, a planed day out with friends lasted two hours. Overpriced and poorly attended by exhibitors.
Many unhappy people.
Agree with all the other comments. No seats so people sitting on the floor, virtually no car clubs, auto jumble was pathetic. We arrived at 12.30pm and loads of people leaving. Thank goodness my friend sent me a Groupon voucher, so I only paid £19, but it wasn’t even worth half that. Cask ales already run out when we arrived so we were reduced to paying £6 for a small bottle of Peroni. Very poor really.
I am wondering if I could have half my money back as it was only half a show!
Very poor turn out. Very few real classic cars, no trade stands.
Entered at 10 done by 12.30. Been going for years, I feel ripped off and won’t be going again….
This was not a great show. I would think half the vehicles there were in the auction enclosure. On Friday, that was “free” but on Saturday and Sunday you would have had to buy an auction catalogue, on top of an already-steep entry cost. I invited a friend from Somerset – and fortunately he couldn’t make it. It would not have been a worthwhile trip on its own and was barely worth it for one living locally. When this show was at Exel, it had about twice the number of vehicles, maybe more, and far more supporting stands. The footprint of Olympia is smaller, and still what was there was pretty spread-out. Good I suppose in that it was easier to see some things, but there really wasn’t that much to see that had a “wow!” factor about it. Three nice 20’s/30’s Alfa’s and a Sarthe Bentley “recreation” were nice and proportionately there were a lot of Ferraris, but only fairly modern ones that don’t do it for me. Nor do Corvette’s, though clearly they have a following. And 911’s are everywhere, and whilst no doubt a different or “interesting” drive dependent on age, not that interesting to look at. I’d take some persuading of significant improvement to cough up again.