Savile Row is a street in Mayfair, Central London that is renowned for housing some of the world’s finest tailors.
Although 2024 will be the third concours on Savile Row, I only discovered the event last year (which you can read about here: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2023/05/31/savile-row-concours-2023/).
The concours event is a really interesting crossover between the worlds of fashion and automotive. It’s a celebration of design, individualism, heritage and craftsmanship, through which both communities share a common appreciation.
Now, I’m sure that anyone who has seen me in real life would let you know that I’m not the most fashion conscious of men. So the focus of today will be on the cars and bikes of the show rather than the tailors who make up Savile Row.
The period between the end of the Second World War in 1945 and the 1973 Oil Crisis are considered by many to be the golden age of automotive design. In this period cars were getting faster and more aerodynamic, but manufacturers still weren’t constrained by having to worry about fuel economy or mandated safety features. In this age designers could simply focus on making their cars fast and beautiful.
The Ferraris of this era are renowned for being particularly beautiful.
The Jaguar line of sports cars in this era I also think are lovely. From the XK120 (two examples pictured below) to its’ successors the XK140 and XK150 then the E-Type, which Enzo Ferrari said was the most beautiful car in the world.
The Mercedes 300sl is another beautiful car from this era. This particular example suited this event really well. The Pearl Green (paint code DB213) is a period correct colour, but is a nice change from the usual silver that these cars are seen in.
Not all of the prettiest cars of the 1950s and 1960s were sports cars though as proven by the stunning Mercedes W188 300Sc grand tourer.
A recreation of John Lennon’s Rolls Royce Phantom V which would have been seen regularly in Savile Row in the 1960s. The craftsmanship that’s gone into the artwork is undeniably fantastic, but I really don’t like it haha! I think it was a bit of a marmite car in period too!
Bizzarini have built 24 continuation models of the 5300 GT Corsa. This is the final one produced.
If you want classic styling but with a more modern driving and ownership experience then there are a number of companies out there who are making restromods. One such example is Everrati who make bespoke electric conversions for classic cars.
If you prefer the rumble of a V8, Jensen International Automotive have rebuilt this Interceptor with a modern supercharged Chevrolet LS3 and 8 speed automatic gearbox, with of course uprated suspension and brakes and the all important modern entertainment system.
Or you could opt for a Morgan. When you buy a Morgan you are buying a brand new car from a British company with traditional styling, but with a modern drivetrain, technology and a warranty.
The Morgan 3 wheelers look like great fun!
There were a number of more modern cars. In terms of supercars, I think that 2000 forwards has really been a golden era. We’ve seen the rise of Pagani and Koenigsegg who’ve both made some breathtaking cars, Bugatti have come back into prominence with the Veyron and Chiron and Ferrari and Lamborghini have made some excellent cars in the past 24 years.
Advancements in power output – internal combustion, hybrid and electric mean that we now have cars that produce insane amounts of power. The Koenigsegg Jesko pictured below for instance will make 1280hp on normal pump petrol, or 1600hp on E85 ethanol. For context Britain’s best selling car in 2023 was the Hyundai Tucson which, from very limited research, seems to produce between 150hp and 180hp. So the Koenigsegg has nearly 10 times as much!
The Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, who are a famous coachbuilder for Aston Martin, Ferrari and Maserati bought along their Arese RH95. It’s a mid-engined supercar powered by a Ferrari V8.
Lotus brought along the Eletre electric SUV and the Emira sports car.
CALLUM debuted the Skye – an electric all terrain vehicle. Build slots are available on their website: https://callumdesigns.com/skye
Richard James have continued their partnership with Audi and displayed a Q8 E-Tron alongside the magnificent Quattro S1 E2 Group B rally car.
Continuing with the motorsport theme, there was a Gen 3 Formula E car.
The wonderful folks at Alpine Centre UK displayed the A110 Pikes Peak hillclimb car.
I have a real love for Edwardian era cars. This Spider bodied 1907 Mercedes 75PS was stunning! It holds a 10.2 litre six cylinder engine!
This 1913 Sunbeam 16/20 racing car was rather charming too. I liked the coiled tubing coming from the top of the radiator.
From the interwar period was this rather lovely 1939 Lagonda LG6 Rapide which was once owned by Charlie Watts – drummer from the Rolling Stones.
There was also a 1925 MG 14/28 Bullnose, one of only 8 surviving examples and the only one left with this salonette body by Carbodies of Coventry.
There were tonnes of motorbikes. They aren’t my area of specialty but I know you guys like them.
Best in Show for me this year was this McLaren F1. It’s actually my first time seeing an F1 in person. It’s smaller than I was expecting it to be!
This particular car was supplied new to Mario Andretti’s son Micheal Andretti, after a deal for Michael to drive for McLaren in F1 in the 1993-94 season fell through (it was part of his compensation package which is phenominal deal!).
This was one of only two cars to leave the factory in Grand Prix Red. The other was destroyed in an accident in the Middle East.
Finally I wanted to feature this lovely little dude in his/her Riley who was happily enjoying a nap despite all the people walking around.
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By Richard Francis
