Regent Street in London’s West End is a 0.8 mile long strip of beautiful 19th Century buildings housing high-end fashion and retail outlets along with trendy restaurants.
On the 6th November 2021 it would play host to The Regent Street Motorshow; a free to view celebration of motoring from the earliest days of the automobile to present.
Over 100 entrants of the 125th London to Brighton Veteran Car Run were on display and for me, these were the stars of the show.
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is only open to cars built before 1905 which meant there was a fantastic line up to view. Ranging from early Mercedes, Renaults, Cadillacs and a number of cars from De Dion Bouton; a brand I had never heard of but who created a beautiful range of single cylinder cars that make a wonderful rhythmic sound as they idle: https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfrancismsfmh/video/7028137523314429190?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=7028177294134003206
The drivers and mechanics also dressed up in period clothing too. Even if you aren’t into cars I’d have to recommend going to see the Veteran Car Run. It’s such a brilliant and unique event.
These cars account for the bulk of my photos from the day. They really caught my imagination.
TV’s Edd China and team.
Parked nearby was this beautiful hearse based on a Ford Model T platform.
The Regent Street Motor Show also had a line up of Jaguar E-Types. The iconic British sports car which Enzo Ferrari called “the most beautiful car ever made” celebrated it’s 60th anniversary in 2021, which I covered in more detail in my post on the London Concours d’Elegance: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2021/06/09/london-concours-delegance-2021/
There were a number of other classic cars along Regent Street, including this beautiful Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, which I don’t recall seeing on my travels before. It was in a nice but unusual specification.
A BMC Mini sporting a very patriotic paint scheme!
Stacked headlight Mercedes. It’s a life goal of mine to own one of these.
A lovely Datsun 240Z on period correct wheels.
Jaguar SS100.
An original Lotus Esprit.
This was a nice find; a Lynx Eventer. Lynx Motors converted 67 Jaguar XJS coupes into shooting brake estates.
There were a few Aston Martins lined up ranging from the latest DB11 to an original V8 Vantage.
To conclude, I really enjoyed the Regent Street Motor Show. The highlight for me was definitely the Veteran cars. It was a real pleasure to be able to see such a collection of early automobiles in one place.
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By Richard Francis
