In the decades between 1950 and 1980, European manufacturers produced dozens of sports and GT cars from the humble MG Midget to Ferrari’s 250GTO.
For many, this era is the pinnacle of automotive excellence and beauty. So of course there was a large representation of cars of this class at the 2026 Concours of Elegance.
We shall start somewhere a little different today with the AC Ace.
AC have an interesting history, which I’ve covered in much more detail here: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2025/07/15/london-concours-2025-the-legendary-ac-cars/
The AC Ace is most notable for being the base car for Carroll Shelby’s Cobra.
There was also the AC Aceca which was a fastbacked coupe based on the Ace.
The 1953 Siata 208 with a body Balbo of Turin. This car features a tiny 2 litre V8 from Fiat.
This is an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 ‘Villa d’Este’. Originally this was built as a prototype by the famous Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. The car was taken to the 1949 Villa d’Este concours on Lake Como, which it won.
Following the success it went into limited production. Between 32 and 36 were made between 1950 and 1952.
The BMW 507. 252 of these were built between 1956 and 1959.
It was originally designed to bridge the gap between budget sports cars like MGs and Triumphs and the supercars of the era like the Mercedes 300SL and Jaguar XK.
It was a financial disaster for BMW and in the end only 252 were built. Today, they’re incredibly collectible.
Bristol 400 with coachwork by Zagato.
There were a number of Mercedes from the era.
Most notably several 300SLs, both in roadster form and as the famous gullwinged coupe.
It was interesting to see how the steering wheel folds down in the gullwing to make it easier to get in and out of.
The 190SL is the 300SL’s smaller brother. It had the looks of the 300 but is based on the 190 saloon car which drastically reduced costs.
This rather unusual looking machine is the Peugeot 203 Barbier. Paul Barbier was a Peugeot dealer who commissioned Roger Tunesi to build this streamlined aluminium body over a 1950 Peugeot 203 chassis.
The car competed in lots of hillclimbs throughout the early 1950s before Paul Barbier was killed in an accident in April 1956 whilst demonstrating a car to a customer.
The car changed hands several times before returning to Paul Barbier’s son – Francois – who undertook the restoration.
The car debuted at The I.C.E at St Moritz in January 2026.
There were plenty of Aston Martins.
My favourite was this DB3S orignially raced by Australian privateers ‘The Kangaroo Stable’.
This DB2 drophead coupe was built by Swiss coachbuilder Graber. In period, only three cars were built and this is the sole survivor!
A lovely little Lotus Elan in the Gold Leaf colours. I liked the little World Championship plaques on the flanks.
Bentley S1 Continental with Park Ward coachwork.
1947 Delahaye 137MS bodied by Henri Chapron. This car was displayed at the 1947 Paris motorshow.
Maserati produced some magnificent cars in this period. This is a Tipo 52 racing car.
Their road cars of this era are exquisite. I love the big trident in the grill. This particular car is a 1963 3500 Spyder.
This is a little gem that I didn’t know anything about before writing this article. The Lancia Aurelia with Pininfarina coachwork.
This car featured the first production V6 and it had a transaxle gearbox in the back giving it a perfect 50/50 weight distribution.
Interestingly that coupe hardtop is removable! It flows so nicely with the rest of the body I just assumed it was a coupe. The little aero screen on the bonnet really confused me before I knew that haha!
There were a number of small Italian manufacturers who built big GT cars around large displacement American V8s. Bizzarrini and Iso are probably the most famous examples.
This is a 1971 Monteverdi 375L High Speed – this one is believed to be the only right hand driven example built. It was delivered new to Dennis Gowing in Australia.
There were several Jaguar E-Types of course.
Controversially I actually prefer the early XK120s. I love the story of that car and I think it’s prettier than the later E.
The 120C or C-Type was the competition body based on the XK120’s running gear.
So we are left with the final two big Italian manufacturers. Firstly was Lamborghini.
Firstly we have the 400GT 2+2. This was built as a successor to Lamborghini’s first car, which was the 350GT.
Of the 224 built only 4 were converted to right hand drive by Lamborghini’s UK importer Portman.
The Miura came out in 1966 and was a project that Lamborghini’s engineering team came up with without Ferruccio’s consent.
This car set the mid-engined blueprint for every supercar to follow.
The Countach followed the Miura in 1974. This is a fairly early one from 1976.
In the 1980s they received a facelift which gave them a wing and, extended wheel arches and a splitter which I think is the best iteration of the Countach. It’s such a symbol of 1980s excess!
Our final car from Lamborghini is a little outside my 50’s to 70’s window for this article being an ’84, but it’s such an unusual car I’m sure you’ll forgive me.
This is the Jalpa. 420 were sold between 1982 and 1988. It features a 3.5ltr aluminium V8 and it’s basically a baby Countach.
I’d never seen or even heard of the Jalpa before this show!
Finally we have Ferrari.
We’ll start with the Dino.
The Dino was named after Enzo’s late son who helped design the V6 that powers this car.
For a long time it was underappreciated but over the past few years people seem to have come to realise what a great little car they actually are.
A 1967 330GTC.
This particular one has spent most of its life in Southern California where it has been gently and sparingly used. It’s an original, unrestored car!
The 250GT Lusso.
The Lusso shared the Colombo V12 with the legendary (and extremely expensive) 250GTO race car, but was a grand tourer, not a racer. Perfect for cruising through the Italian Riviera!
Finally we come to what I believe to be the prettiest Ferrari ever built – the 275GTB.
Pininfarina really got everything right with this car! It’s so elegant!
The green one also has ‘RWF’ on the number plate, which are my initials. I think it’s a sign!
Thanks for reading! I really hoped you enjoyed this look around the golden era sports cars of the Hampton Court Palace Concours of Elegance.
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By Richard Francis
