The 2025 London Concours was an unforgettable experience, as it is every year. I love this car show.
As with many shows I attend I have put together a Top 10 cars that I’d most like to own/ drive and I’ve listed these cars in order of m y personal desirability. Attending events like the London Concours is always exciting, and you can see all of my photos from this wonderful event on my Facebook album. There’s also plenty of video content on our YouTube channel, featuring highlights from the London Concours.
So, drum roll……
Here are my personal favourite 10 cars from the London Concours.
1. 1995 McLaren F1
I wouldn’t be a true automotive connoisseur – if I do say so myself – without including the McLaren F1 high up on my list. Many would argue this is one of the greatest cars ever made.
The brief was to create the ultimate driver’s car. Gordon Murray and his team obliged, building a focused machine that prioritised light weight and driving purity. The 1138kg, three-seater F1 was among the first production cars to use a carbonfibre monocoque for lightness and rigidity. Its 618bhp 6.1-litre BMW V12 gave a 0-60mph time of 3.2 seconds and 240.1mph top speed, making it the world’s fastest car.
The 39th of 64 F1 production cars built, chassis 046 was ordered by racing driver Ray Bellim. He kept it for several years before selling it to Juan Barazi. Since 2012 it’s been with its current owner, who has returned it to its original unique colour of Genesis Blue Metallic.
Beautiful.
2. 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing
This Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing is one of the most iconic and stunning cars in history. It’s automotive artwork, in my opinion.
Mercedes-Benz’s attempt to tap into the US sports car market produced arguably the world’s first supercar. Fuel injection helped its 3.0-litre straight-six high structural sills, and a weight of just 1295kg. Performance was truly sensational: 160mph and an 8.8-second 0-60mph time. Just 1400 coupés were built from 1954-57.
First acquired in 1988, make 215bhp and, later on, 240bhp. Its ‘Super-Leicht’ (SL) tubular spaceframe saw the use of gullwing doors to compensate for the this car hasn’t been seen in public for 30-plus years. It’s recently received a light recommissioning to return it to the road.
In silver, it’s absolutely breathtaking, and I love it.
3. 1993 Bugatti EB110 SS
You don’t see one of these very often, and normally they’re in Bugatti blue. We love the Bugatti EB110 SS. This one in silver – stunning.
True to Bugatti‘s legend for building cars of the utmost performance and luxury, and thanks to marque saviour Romano Artioli, 110 years after Ettore’s birth the EB110 was born.
Bringing together many immense talents of the Italian supercar world, the quad-turbocharged 3.5-litre V12 model made 553bhp in standard form, and 603bhp in Super Sport trim. All-wheel drive rocketed it to 60mph in 3.14 seconds and on to 220.6mph.
This car is one of 31 SS models and 18 known to the Bugatti club. It wears VIN 0001 and was built for the Royal Family of Brunei. It’s been with its current owner since 2007.
We absolutely love it.
4. 2021 Ford GT Carbon Edition
Of all modern hypercars, this Ford is one of my absolute favourites, the 2021 Ford GT. I just love the design.
Celebrating 50 years since its 1966 Le Mans win, Ford took victory in the LM GTE-Pro in 2016 with a new GT. The car imbued the original model’s design cues in a teardrop shape inspired by LMP1 endurance racing cars. It used a 647bhp 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V6.
With a carbonfibre monocoque attached to aluminium front and rear subframes, carbonfibre bodywork, pushrod suspension and optional carbonfibre wheels, the GT was state of the art.
All out the Ford GT could hit 216mph, having blasted through the 0-60mph sprint in a mere 3.0 seconds. It was so quick, it took little more than twice that to reach 100mph, with 170mph taking just 21.4 seconds from rest.
I love it, it’s purposeful and seriously cool.
5. 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO
This car is an automotive icon. I love everything about this Ferrari 288 GTO.
With Lamborghini and Porsche unleashing ever-faster machinery, Maranello needed to fight back with something special – an icon car that would stand at the very top of the range. The 288 GTO was the result and it sired a line of ultimate Ferraris such as the F40 and F50.
Power came from a 400bhp twin-turbo V8. There was potential for endurance racing, but Group B’s collapse meant the 288 GTO would never race. It did become one of the most sought-after road-going Ferraris ever, though.
Just 272 examples were built between 1984 and 1986, and this example was first delivered to Italy.
Bellissima.
6. 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4
Beautiful colour – like a metallic burgundy – with white wheels and a white leather interior. Epic. One of just 112 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 made.
Arguably one of the most controversial hypercars of recent years? Marcello Gandini, designer of the original Countach to which this Aventador-based limited edition paid tribute, wasn’t a fan.
The LPI 800-4 was far more than just an exterior reskin – it was a further development of the hybrid tech brought in with the Sián FKP 37 of 2019. It combined a 770bhp 6.5-litre V12 with a 48V 34bhp electric motor for a total 803bhp.
Regenerative braking energy was stored in a supercapacitor for added lightness. The car could hit o-62mph in 2.8 seconds and twice that in 8.6 seconds, before topping out at 221mph.
A head turner for me, and I spent a lot of time looking at it and re-looking.
7. 1992 Jaguar XJ220
The Jaguar XJ220 was the fastest production road car of its time. I still think it looks stunning, even over 30 years later.
The svelte XJ220 has all three Jaguar attributes: grace, space and pace. The Keith Helfet-penned shape was extensively wind-tunnel tested, and even today the figures seem huge: the 3.5-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo produced 542bhp at 7200rpm. Its aluminium-honeycomb chassis used bonded panels to keep the weight down to 1500kg, which meant it could hit 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds and sprint on to 212.3mph – making it the world’s fastest production car in 1992. Just 281 were built out of a proposed 350.
This XJ220 was first delivered to Sir Elton John, who kept it for 900 miles and nine years. It then passed through several keepers, before the current owner acquired it in 2010.
8. 1985 Porsche 959
I think this is one of the most beautiful Porsches ever made, the Porsche 959, although I prefer in silver. What do you think?
While often said to be built for Group B racing, the 959 was originally designed to be the halo car for a new range of models to replace the 911. Group B simply offered a great way to advance development.
The 959 had active aerodynamics, sequential twin turbos, dynamically variable torque split, adjustable suspension and more – all ahead of their time and ultimately so costly that Porsche lost money on each car built and canned the 911 Turbo replacement. The 450bhp 2.85-litre water-cooled flat-six meant the 959 could hit 6omph in 3.6 seconds and top out at 198mph. This car is one of two Ruby Red prototypes and one of seven overall. It was used for electronics and hot-weather testing.
9. 2024 Ferrari Daytona SP3
A very striking Ferrari. To many, it features unique design elements you rarely see on a Ferrari, which I love. These cost circa £3.5 million now.
Built to commemorate Ferrari’s podium lock-out at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours, this thoroughly modern hypercar takes inspiration from sports prototypes of that era, in particular the 330 P3/4, 312 P and 512 S.
It is an exercise in ‘passive’ aero, without recourse to active flaps or wings. It can produce 230kg of downforce at 125mph – a remarkable figure.
The carbonfibre monocoque houses an 812 Competizione-derived 6.5-litre V12. It produces 829bhp at 9250rpm, with 514lb ft of torque at 7250rpm, courtesy of a revised intake and exhaust plus reworked internals. The SP3 Daytona can sprint to 62mph in 2.85 seconds and top out at 211mph. Just 599 were built.
10. 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL
I absolutely love this car. It’s beautiful, and probably the closest I’ll ever get to owning a 300 SL. The 190 SL shares many design cues with its more famous sibling.
The 190 SL offered a 300 SL aesthetic without the price tag. Its 1.9-litre four-pot made 104bhp and would later be used on the W120 and W121, and its floorpan was a shortened version of the W121 saloon’s. Over eight years 25,881 examples were built.
This 190 SL came with a hard-top and was delivered to Denmark. In the 1980s it was sourced by Sherman Oaks Classics in LA and repainted black. The current owner acquired it in 1998, brought it to the UK and set about restoring it alongside Lux Classics. It won Best of Show at the 2010 MB Club SL Day at Sandringham, and has graced many shows since.
So cool.
Bonus Mention: 1993 Porsche 964 3.3 Turbo
This is my favourite Porsche 911 shape. Absolutely stunning. I love the colour – beautiful.
Special Mention: 2016 Volkswagen XL1
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one of these in person before. I was really impressed by its futuristic design. In fact, it still looks futuristic today.
There were so many beautiful cars that some of my all-time favourites didn’t even make the top 10. Honourable mentions go to:
Watch out for more articles from the London Concours 2025 coming up over the coming weeks.
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