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Today we witnessed some of the finest automobiles from across the globe all united on one stage, that being The City Concours, London. This is the first year that the automotive garden party as its dubbed has been held in the heart of London, however from the experience we had this certainly won’t be the last.
 
As soon as we entered the honorable artillery grounds we were met with a vista of motoring excellence comprising of the likes of coachbuilt bespoke creations such as the Eagle E Type Jaguar and the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante constructed on the base of an 8C Competizione.
 
The City Concours ignites the senses with an array of categories capturing the essence of the humble motor car, the sight is a glorious one with HR Owen on one side of the grounds showcasing the latest Lamborghini, Bentley, Ferrari, Rolls Royce and Maserati models. On the other side the most technologically advanced hypercars 2017 has to offer, with the pioneering Holy Trinity taking centre stage accompanied by three more of the motoring elite.
 
 
The City Concours offers its audience the chance to see some of rarest cars ever conceived, the essence of this automotive precision is captured in 9 distinct categories offering the enthusiast a completely different experience with each one, the Swinging 60's showcased everthing from the 1965 Lotus Elan, AC Cobra to the Mini Cooper S. 
 
The Pioneering Spirit class showcased the finest vintage vehicles including the 1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost London to Edinburgh curated by P & A Wood, a car which had previously competed in a race over in Jordan back in the late 1990's, as well as having a Machine Gun bolted to it in a previous life, it really was a veritable banquet for the senses, and in its original state. Whilst perusing the Rolls Royce we spoke to the daughter of the prestigious coachbuilt Rolls Royce firm, and she talked us through how to start the 1912 narrow bodied Silver Ghost. This extensive sequence of actions to start the vintage classic included pressuring the fuel tank with a hand pump attached to a gauge under the dashboard, and hand calibrating the carburettor in the centre of the steering wheel with use of a dial, this allowed you to set the speed of the engine, if you adhere to the RR philosophy of it being a drivers, this should become second nature to you in no tim - we were then privvy to the caucaphony of the 1912 Rolls Royce horn which echoed throughout central London, magical and backed up by a slightly more subtle hand activated horn, but equally as captivating. We were invited to attend P & A Wood and see a bespoke coachbuilt car come together, and of course we accepted.
 
 
Moving round field we got a chance to get up close and personal with the Mclaren MSO HS, Mclaren P1, Aston Martin Vulcan, Pagani Huarya, La Ferrari and finally the Porsche 918. Each one redefining automotive history with advanced technologies, bucket loads of Carbon fibre and of course many 100's of petrol fuelled horses. 
 
Next was the turn of the Built for Speed where we got face to face with Clive Beecham's Jaguar D Type Ecurie Ecosse, a completely original racing car which has recently just completed the 2017 Mille Miglia, and has raced in many prestigious races over its lifetime, Clive feels privileged to own such a piece of motoring heritage, however he believes it should be driven and not stored in definitely. 
 
Clive enticed our writer Annabelle to take to the driving seat, even donning the original racing gear helmet and goggles.
 
That's our first report, stay tuned for part 2
 
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Northern Group of Motoring Writers NGMW

Northern Group Of Motoring Writers

Annabelle Quirk Vice Chairwoman
Ben D T Quirk Member