My Highlights from this Year's Fantastic London Classic Car Show

On Thursday 15 February, I packed up my camera and headed over to London’s ExCel’s Exhibition Centre for the fourth annual London Classic Car Show. For those of you who have not been, the show celebrates beautiful, classic motoring nostalgia in a dramatic setting and it is one of the highlights of my year!

This year’s show was opened in a dramatic fashion by three well-known TV motoring presenters; Alex Riley (BBC One Show), Jonny Smith (Fifth Gear and Mud, Sweat & Gears) and Quentin Willson (BBC Top Gear, Fifth Gear and The Classic Car Show).  It was clear right from the opening that the show was going to be bigger and better than ever before. 

Once again, an enormous indoor race track, known as the ‘Grand Avenue’, ran through the centre of the ExCel, enthralling visitors and allowing them to see – and hear – some of their favourite classics in action. The car above is a 1907 Stanley H4 Gentleman's Speedy Roadster, the hypercar of its era.

Getaway Cars

The show paid homage to ‘Getaway Cars’.  This was an evocative tribute to those vehicles made famous in movies or used in headline grabbing real-life robberies and was curated by Philip Glenister, aka DCI Gene Hunt from BBC police dramas Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.  

Alongside the vehicles made famous for dramatic escapes, the show welcomed their very own celebrity drivers with actor Nick Moran of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels reliving various of his film roles at the special display. 

Nick Reynolds, the son of Bruce Reynolds, was reunited with the very Lotus Cortina that his late father used to stake out the Great Train Robbery in 1963. The Lotus has just 3,500 miles on the clock and is still fitted with the same tyres that helped the police to hunt down the gang!

Nick Moran with the Italian Job Mini Cooper brought to London.

Nick Reynolds with his father Bruce Reynolds' Lotus Cortina used in The Great Train Robbery.

RAF Red Arrows and Aston Martin Owners Club

Squadron Leader Adam Collins from the RAF Red Arrows was on the Aston Martin Owners Club stand with a Vanquish S Red Arrows limited edition model, which was recently raffled for a huge £1.5m, earning for the RAF Benevolent Fund. He was joined by Humphrey Bradley from south east London – the lucky man who won the car.

Lister Thunder Launch on the Grand Avenue

The opening evening witnessed a pair of major global car launches with two of Britain's most iconic marques unveiling spotlight-stealing new models. First Morgan took the wraps on its latest +4 Club Sport and then Lister revealed its never-seen-before Thunder. 

This year’s theme was ‘Specials’, which put the spotlight on an eye-catching gathering of road and race cars steeped in history and mystique. No fewer than 60 hand-picked classics were fired up for jaw-dropping, not to mention very noisy, displays on The Grand Avenue.

As the dramatic live show came towards its conclusion, the show opening trio of Riley, Smith and Willson selected four stand-out cars with a combined value of more than £3m to join the parade: a 1931 Bentley 8-litre; a highly-original 1961 Jaguar E-type; a 1992 Jaguar XJ220 and a 2015 McLaren P1 hypercar – a classic car of the future. 

The trio was joined by former Blue Peter and GMTV presenter Anthea Turner for the photograph next to the Lister Thunder.

The Morgan latest +4 Club Sport takes its place on the Grand Avenue.

Presenter Alex Riley with the 1961 Jaguar E-Type and 1931 Bentley 8 litre.

A 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Gurney Nutting - a shimmering silver masterpiece of the coachbuilders' art.

A 1989 Lotus Judd Type 101, Chassis no 3 - an aerodynamically ambitious Camel.

Nigel Mansell CBE, closes the show

On Sunday, the racing legend Nigel Mansell CBE arrived at the show to talk about a special collection of his racing cars and to provide a fitting close to the event.

The 1992 F1 World Champion wowed Sunday crowds with some wonderful driving displays on the Grand Avenue, which included a wheel-spinning entrance behind the wheel of a Jaguar E-type inspired Eagle Speedster.

He later returned in a red Ferrari 246 Dino F1 front-engined F1 car from the late fifties and was also reunited with some of the cars which he raced during his roller-coaster career. 

At the end of his performance on the Grand Avenue, Nigel was awarded the 2018 London Classic Car Show Icon award.

My closing thoughts

All in all, this year’s show was a brilliant experience from start to finish. Nigel Mansell CBE was a real highlight for me, especially his performances on the Grand Avenue, his interview at the Supaguard Theatre and his presentation of the London Classic Car Show Icon award. 

I hear the show attracted over 38,000 visitors and featured close to 700 of the world’s finest classic cars worth more than £300m. Next year’s dates for your diary are 14-17 February 2019 - I am looking forward to it already!

To see a variety of other photographs from the event please click this link to our sister website 'Stella'.

Please follow me on Instagram for new pictures and stories of future events on @stellasms and @stellascordellis.

Thank you.

Stella

Mother’s Day Special Offer:

We are pleased to offer a special gift for Mother's Day. 

Our Mother's Day Special Offer is a discounted studio photo-shoot for up to four people and a 7” x 5” photograph, from the shoot, presented in a silver plated frame and gift boxed.

The special offer for both the shoot and photograph is £125 - the usual cost is £140.

Simply visit SMS Creative Photography to receive a personalised gift voucher or call the studio on 01883 722282. 

Your mother will be able to redeem for this offer within six months from 11th March.

Stella

Terms & Conditions apply - this offer is valid for Mother's Day 2018 with no cash alternative, gift vouchers to be redeemed within six months of 11th March 2018.

Stella

Out and about: London Classic Car Show 15 - 18 February 2018

I am thrilled to be photographing the London Classic Car Show again this year. I love this show because it celebrates beautiful sleek cars and their exquisite culture and nostalgia.

In 2017 the show celebrated the 70th anniversary of Ferrari and showcased some of the rarest roadgoing Ferrari’s ever constructed.

963 Ferrari 250 GTO once owned by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason sold in 2013 for £52 million, making it the world's most expensive car. He bought the car in 1977 for £35,000 - what a great return!

This year the show is featuring ‘getaway cars’ and ‘specials’ which are described as ‘unique beasts’ with rare designs.  Alongside this will be a display of the cars and trophies of Formula 1 icon Nigel Mansell CBE.

If you are planning to attend please let me know, I’d love to see you there.

Stella

To read my blog about the London Classic Car Show 2017 please click here

Celebrating 21 Years of SMS Creative Photography

1997

2017

Now, onto 2018. I am already working on so many new projects that it is difficult to know where to start!  I always look at the New Year as a blank canvas for my business, where I take time to consider new ventures and inspiration. 

The first important milestone for 2018 is the celebration of a very special anniversary. On Saturday 10 February, it will be 21 years since I opened my SMS Creative Photography studio on Oxted high street. I am proud to have served the Oxted community for 21 years and would like to invite you to raise a glass with me, if you are in the area on the 10th.   

Of course, during this time we have seen so much change. What has remained the same, however, is our united passion for our family and our friends, and our enjoyment of sharing and celebrating special moments. I look forward to being here for you all for another 21 years!

Stella

Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 5 November 2017

The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the longest-running motoring event in the world. More than 400 pioneering veteran cars (built before 1905), their drivers and passengers gathered in Hyde Park on Sunday 5 November waiting for daybreak to signal the start of the annual Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox.

Participants headed off for a nostalgic drive to the Sussex coast, where I was waiting to photograph them cross the finishing line to the rapturous cheers and applause of the crowds at Madeira Drive, Brighton.

This year the Run featured the largest entry in recent years, staged as it has been since 1930, by the Royal Automobile Club. The route this year took a detour to avoid the roadworks in Brixton as the map below shows.

Although a number of cars were diverted following a road traffic accident involving one of the participating vehicles, 315 of the 401 starters made it to Brighton to claim a coveted finishers’ medal before sunset at 4.30pm. 

This year's Veteran Car Run marked 121 years since the original 'Emancipation Run', which was held in 1896 to celebrate the Locomotive on the Highway Act. This raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 to 14 mph and abolished the need for a man to walk ahead waving a red flag to warn pedestrians and horse riders of its approach. The event’s ceremonial start includes the tearing in half of one such red flag, a poignant reminder of the liberation we commemorate on this annual ‘Emancipation Run'.

I particularly enjoy photographing this annual event because of the atmosphere and the fascinating history associated with each car, I have included some of the histories to accompany a few of the photographs from the day.

The maximum speed the cars can travel is 20 mph, the first car above, to cross the finishing line at 10.45am - number 111, a 1902 Oldsmobile, 1 cylinder 4.5 HP driven by Andreas Melkus from Austria.

Not far behind, above in car number 034, Robert Abery driving an 1899 Daimler, 2 cylinders 8 HP and car number 150 driven by Jiri Horice a 1902 Autocar, 2 cylinders 10 HP.

In all, 23 countries are represented in an entry list, which includes 34 new participants on the Run, while a further 18 have returned after missing the 2016 event.

John Dennis driving the car above number 125, knows exactly where he was on Sunday, 1 November 1959, he knows exactly where he was on Sunday, 6 November 1960, too.
 
In fact, he can pinpoint where he was on the first Sunday of November of every year, ever since - bar one year in the 1990s, when he was in America on a business trip. On the first Sunday of every November, Dennis has been behind the wheel of his veteran car, making his way from London to Brighton.
 
Not just any veteran car either, but one made by his grandfather’s company 115 years ago. It’s a 1902 Dennis Tonneau, 1 cylinder 8 HP, built by the Guildford-based Dennis Brothers, a company better known today for its buses, trucks and fire appliances. This year, John Dennis OBE drove the same car – registered P 26 – for the 58th time on the annual Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The car however, will be on its 66th Run, having completed eight Runs with John’s father at the wheel in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

John and two other drivers who have taken part in 50 or more Runs are to be given special Gold Medals by the Royal Automobile Club in recognition of their remarkable achievements. John will be joined at the ceremony by John Kemsley and John Newens below driving car number 312, his 1904 Star, 2 cylinders 7 HP - who have participated in 50 and 61 Runs respectively.

Passenger, Charley Boorman TV presenter, travel writer and actor with driver Damon Hill OBE, British former racing driver, above in a 1904 Rover, 1 cylinder 8 HP from the British Motor Musem.

Above photograph of Malcolm Barber Co-Chairman of the Bonhams Group, driving car number 260 a 1903 Peerless, 2 cylinder 16 HP.

Guy Middleton above, has been the proud owner of car number 218, a 1903 Wolseley Tonneau, 2 cylinders 7.5 HP for the past seven years, and his father before him the owner since 1984.

Guy has taken part in the Run on and off since 1983 as a passenger, he then completed a series of Runs in a single cylinder Bare as the driver.

I asked him to share any special memories about any of the Runs, this is his reply: "The first Run we had a puncture in Croydon High Street. Fortunately, we had inner tubes, a jack and some tyre levers and when we got going again we received an amazing round of applause for changing a tyre in about half an hour! A few Runs later we hired mobile phones (the ones that look like a brick with a rat tail), we had to keep it in the umbrella basket!"

I was also curious to know if he owns any other cars, and if so which was his favourite and why, Guy explained: "No, this is the only one and I have to look after it. We used it on our wedding day, to go from the church to our reception, so it does have a lot of great memories. At one point we had three cars in the Run, including my mother in a 1901 Baker electric. I shall wait and see if my daughters get the bug!"

Guy above, driving with his friends.

Ms Quirina Louwman above with her children and with her father driving 'Genevieve' their 1904 Darracq, 2 cylinders 12 HP, from the Louwman Museum in the Netherlands.

This car was the star of the 1953 British comedy film 'Genevieve' - about two couples who took part in the Run. Always a pleasure to see 'Genevieve' and her faithful occupants at the Run!

Above a 1901 De Dion, 1 cylinder 4.5 HP driven by Jerome Stevens.

Following the Run were 60 auction winners who bid for a seat on one of three vintage buses.

The 60 Go Bonkers to Brighton auction was organised by BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans to raise money for BBC Children in Need. In the three years Children in Need has been involved in the Run, more than £741,000 has been raised for the charity. Many congratulations to them for raising much-needed funds for such a worthy cause!

Above Chris Evans, seen here with Pudsey Bear, drove one of the busses - the passengers were the auction winners who bid for a seat to raise money for BBC Children in Need.

Above presenter Alex Jones from BBC One, The One Show driving one of the 1950s Bedford coaches.

(Photograph supplied by MPA Creative)

Although the Run is not a race, in recent years the Chopard Regularity Trial has introduced an additional interesting element to the Run.

The Regularity Time Trial starts halfway through the Run after participants have regrouped at the Crawley half-way checkpoint. The Time Trial starts at Crawley High Street and finishes 13 miles later at another checkpoint at Burgess Hill in Sussex. 

Before the Run, each entrant will nominate the average speed they think they will maintain over the 13 miles – the options are 8 mph, 10 mph, 12 mph, 14 mph, 16 mph and 18 mph. If no speed is nominated, the default average speed is set at 12 mph. The car and driver that gets closest to its nominated average speed wins the watch.

This year’s winner of a Chopard Mille Miglia Chronograph, worth £4,900 is Ymer Sletter, who opted for a 12 mph average between the two points and came closest to his nominated speed. Driving a Cadillac dating back to 1904 shown in the photograph above (supplied), Sletter’s actual speed for the allocated section in the Sussex Downs was an amazing 12.01 mph.

The crowds gathered to cheer and applaud the participants and their wonderful array of veteran cars on a sunny, but chilly Sunday.

Above, an 1899 steam Locomobile, 2 cylinders 3.5 HP driven by Kempton Moody finished just before sunset.

Safely back on the trailer and homeward bound!

Thanks for reading, I'm already looking forward to Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2018!

To view more photographs from the day please follow this link to my website. I'll be back soon with more news in the next week or so.

Bye for now.

Stella

Chubb Insurance Concours D'Elégance 2017

Thursday 31 August was the opening of the world renowned Salon Privé in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, majestically placed on the South Lawn, now in its 3rd consecutive year.

Salon Privé continues to attract some of the most important collector cars in the world - with a 12-year history, Salon Privé is firmly established as the UK’s most prestigious luxury Classic and Supercar Show & Concours d’Elégance.

I had the pleasure of photographing the day for the 2nd year and this year's show didn't disappoint. As well as photographing I spoke to a few of the owners to hear about the history of their cars, one in particular stuck in my mind - a stunning 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 'Daytona Spider', bought in the late 80s, this very car won the trophy for the People's Choice and quite rightly too.

The selection of photographs below tells you a little more about how the day unfolded.

The day started with the world premiere of the all-new ATS GT - the first ATS for more than half a century - Automobili Turismo e Sports owner Daniele Martian explained the ethos of the team of talented young people bringing back this historically important brand.

Trophies basking in the sunlight, lined up ready for the afternoon presentations.

Judge, Vincent Van Der Vinne - automotive historian, and writer speaking to the owner of the 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider.

This year the panel of judges were: Derek Bell as Chief Judge, Keith Bluemel, Henry Cole, Fabio Filippini, Marco Makaus, John Mayston-Taylor, Yasmin Le Bon, Hugo Modderman, Steve Parrish, Jeff Smith MBE, Frank Stephenson, Giles Taylor, Vincent Van der Vinne and youth judges, Ben Barkaway, Harvey Stanley and Marcus Willis with Max Girardo - Master of Ceremonies.
Seen above (l-r) Jeff Smith MBE, Steve Parrish, Max Girardo, His Grace, the 12th Duke of Marlborough, Yasmin Le Bon, John Mayston-Taylor, Frank Stephenson and Marco Makaus.

Some of the motorcycles needed a push!

Most OTT Motorbike: 1971 Kawasaki Millyard H1 500LC.

Jalil Rehman - Executive Vice President and Chief Business Operations Officer of Chubb Insurance, with Master of Ceremonies Max Girardo and His Grace, the 12th Duke of Marlborough (l-r).

Taking home top honours, with the Best of Show Trophy, was the revered and much-discussed 1960 Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Pininfarina Superflow IV. This rare Alfa Romeo is the final evolution of four concept cars in one. The car initially began as a 6C 3000 CM race car, (driven by none other than Juan Manuel Fangio, taking 2nd place in the 1953 Mille Miglia), of the eight 6C 3000 CM's built, two were converted to street cars. Chassis #00128 was then given to Italian designer, Pininfarina, who used the chassis to evolve four prototype design studies ending with the Superflow IV with its Plexi roof.

Trophy presentation by His Grace, the 12th Duke of Marlborough and Jalil Rehaman - a car that hadn’t been shown in the UK until Thursday’s Salon Privé Concours debut; it shook off fierce competition in the Curvaceous Coupes Class, and will return to its home in the USA with not only the Best in Show Trophy but also a Best in Class award.

I can see why this Alfa Romeo won the Best in Class award as well the Best of Show trophy, it really is a car with class and style, I spoke to the owner who said people refer to it as the bubble car, I'm not sure that does it justice!

Andrew Bagley, Concours Chairman announcing the Special Award for Most Original Post-War: 1969 Aston Martin DB6 MkII.  
Built in 1969, this car is in exceptional condition with unbroken history and matching numbers. Chassis #4312 is a multiple award-winning car in both Concour d'Elégance and rallies. It is one of 5 in this particular colour Bahama Yellow and special to its kind, it has the capacity of changing the perceived colour depending on the lighting conditions.

Judges Henry Cole, Derek Bell MBE, Steve Parrish and youth judge Harvey Stanley.

This special 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 having only returned from Italy and Lamborghini’s in-house restoration team, Polo Storico, in July, took home top honours in the Evolution of the Supercar Pin-Ups Class.

The current owners and recipients of the award. This car was delivered to its original owner in late 1967, who gave it the nickname 'Tamuira' after his fiancée and reigning Miss Italia Tamara Baroni. 

One-of-37 ‘covered headlamp’ 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider restored in the UK during 2012, this exceptional SWB-variant California Spider wowed judges, becoming Best in Show runner-up, and taking home a Best-in-Class win in the Riviera Cruising category.

His Grace, the 12th Duke of Marlborough presenting the trophy. I think you'll agree this is one of the most desirable open top GT cars ever made.

Other winners of Italian descent include the last-ever UK-delivered, right-hand-drive 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 ‘Daytona’ Spider, one of just 122 that originally left the Maranello factory in that specification. Remaining with its current owner for over 30 years, it won the hearts of Salon Privé guests and took home the People’s Choice Award. 

Thanks for reading, I'm already looking forward to next year at Salon Privé - to view more photographs from the day please follow this link to my website.

I'll be back next month with more news!

Bye for now.

Stella