In previous articles we have covered all the competition classes at the 2026 London Concours. Today, we’re going to look all the cars at the show that were outside of those classes.
The London Concours runs over three days. On each day they have a featured display which changes, so people who are there multiple days have something new to explore. This year there was Porsche Perfection, Supercar Day and, the one I went on, Jaguar XK day.
During the Second World War, William Lyons – cofounder of Jaguar, and his engine designers discussed Jaguar’s next engine whilst on fire watch on the roof of their factory in Coventry.
These discussions lead to the development of the XG and XF prototype 4 cylinders in 1943. The XG was pushrod overhead valve engine and the XF was a dual overhead cam engine. The dual overhead cam XF engine was quieter than the XG and development continued off of that, first as a four cylinder engine then as a six.
Finally in 1948 a 3.4 litre 6 cylinder ‘XK’ engine was debuted at the London Motor Show in the XK120 – a prototype sports car. The XK obviously denotes the family of the engine and the 120 comes from the fact that it would reach 120mph – making it the fastest car in the world at the time.
As a prototype, the XK120 was so popular that Jaguar had to put it into production. In 1949 the first production car (chassis no 670003) was delivered to American actor Clark Gable. This is that car!
Obviously with the pedigree of world’s fastest production car they became very successful and popular racing cars.
In 1951 a drophead coupe was added to the range. I know looks are entirely subjective, but in my opinion the early XK120 coupes are the prettiest cars ever built.
This particular one is an electric conversion by Lunaz.
This little race car really caught my eye with the steel wheels and knock off hubs. It was really interesting to see the little notch cut in the bodywork to make room for the float bowl for the third carburettor. Switching from two to three carbs is apparently a popular modification for these engines.
Then came the XK140 between 1954 and 1957. The 140 was 30bhp more powerful than the earlier car, had shaper rack and pinion steering and was a little more roomy inside thanks to the firewall being moved 75mm forward.
The XK150 followed between 1957-1961. It was a huge leap forward technologically, but they put a really wide bonnet and grill on the 150 which completely ruined the look of the car in my opinion.
The E-Type or XK-E followed and was manufactured between 1961 and 1974. Enzo Ferrari once famously said the E-Type was “the most beautiful car ever made”.
The XK name plate was revived in 1996 with the XK8 which ran until 2006 when it was replaced by the XK.
The XK was designed by Ian Callum, whos works have popped up on this website a number of times (most notably the Skye which can be found here: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2024/07/02/london-concours-2024-wildcards/ and here https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2024/05/28/concours-on-savile-row-2024/ along with the Wood & Pickett Mini, which can be found here: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2026/07/12/london-concours-2026-icons-remastered/)
Callum also dis the aesthetic work on Evoluto Automobili’s 355 – a reimagining of the Ferrari F355.
Next to the 355 was Boreham Motorworks’ Mk1 RS – a modern reinterpretation of a Mk1 Escort.
This isn’t a restromod, it’s a complete new body shell powered by the inhouse developed Ten-K – a 330bhp, 10,000 rpm screaming four cylinder that weighs just 85KG.
There were a couple of manufacturers of supercars displaying some of their products.
Arash Motor Company are a small British manufacturer of exclusive track focused supercars.
This is the LM, which was their original car. It was debuted at the 2002 Autosport International Show (RIP).
The AF8 is one of the cars in their current line up. This is based around GM’s 7.0ltr LS7 V8.
This is the Elektron Quasar which was making its public debut at the London Concours.
The stats on this car are absolutely mind-boggling. It produces 2413bhp and 2790nm of torque (2057ft-lbs) (all electric of course). the 0-62mph time is 1.65 seconds and it will go on to a top speed of 279mph, which is limited! With the limiters removed it will reach 326mph!
I had the opportunity to speak with the founder Armagan Arabul (pictured below).
He very much practises what I try to preach here – he had a dream and he’s built that into a reality. I wish him and his team the best of luck in their future endeavours, not that they need it – the Quasar is incredible!
If you want to find out more, check out their website here: https://elektronmotors.com/
EMM London are a concierge service who can arrange the buying and selling of classic and supercars, and will organise the logistics of getting these cars to and from events worldwide.
There were a few more cars in the show. Heres a Nardo Grey Veyron. It had the usual two tone Veyron split, but one section was finished in gloss and the other matte.
I’m not a fan of Nardo Grey or any of the greys that just look like primer, but with the two finishes it looked fantastic!
Horatio Pagani is an artist. It’s hard to believe the Zonda debuted in 1999!
Here’s a lovely little Lister which was presented by Oakglen Wealth – a London based investments agency.
Along with a couple more to round things off.
I’m afraid that concludes my coverage of the 2026 London Concours. If you would like to see more though, please subscribe to my emailing list at the bottom of the page.
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By Richard Francis
