The London Concours, famed for bringing the very finest cars to the heart of the City of London, has announced that it will assemble super and hypercar royalty this June with its class ‘The Pursuit of Speed’, presented by Montres Breguet.
The exciting category will celebrate cars that push the envelope of performance, engineering and technology. The performance icons will take to the immaculate lawns of the Honourable Artillery Company from June 28th to 30th at the capital’s most spectacular automotive garden party.
Hypercars
The sensational range of machinery on show will include a particularly ground-breaking Swedish hypercar, Koenigsegg’s Regera – a marque unafraid of ploughing its own furrow in the pursuit of performance. Launched in 2016 as a refined, grand touring alternative to the focused, angry Agera, the Regera sports a 5.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, supplemented by electric motors; the first plug-in hybrid Koenigsegg, with a claimed electric-only range of 22 miles. Working in tandem, the heavily boosted V8 and electric motors produce 1500bhp – driving through a unique, highly-innovative single-speed, direct drive transmission, developed in-house by Koenigsegg’s Advanced Engineering division. Performance is predictably dizzying: 0-300 kph (186 mph) in just 10.9 seconds, and an electronically limited top speed of 251 mph. Only 80 of these idiosyncratic hypercars will be made. This summer’s show presents a rare chance to pore over this technological tour de force in the most stunning of settings.
The HAC will play host to an equally dramatic, open top hypercar: the Pagani Huayra Roadster. The coupe version was revealed in 2011 as a replacement for the long serving Zonda, which had debuted back in 1998. Sculptural and extravagant, both inside and out – in typical Pagani fashion – in an age of increasingly homogenised performance machinery, the outlandish Huayra stood apart. The Roadster version arrived in 2017 with a roof that could be removed entirely, actually saving weight over closed top version. Both versions were powered by a mighty, mid-mounted 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V12, developed and produced by AMG, driving through a seven-speed sequential single-clutch gearbox. The Roadster packed more power than the coupe, with 754 bhp and 738 lb/ft of torque – the latter delivered from just 2400 rpm. With such titanic power, and weighing just 1280kg in open top form, the Huayra packed relentless performance; Top Gear magazine remarked that it was “spectacularly, brutally fast”, accelerating from 60-150 mph with “disdainful ease”. The outrageous Huayra Roadster – one of just 100 produced – is another not to be missed this June.
Supercars
Another Modenese machine from the more established supercar order will be on show: The Ferrari 488 Pista. The Pista was unveiled at the Geneva motor show in 2018, as the most extreme iteration of the all-conquering 488. It joined the long lineage of mid-engined V8, lightweight Ferraris that began with the 348 GT Competizione back in 1993, and included the delightful 360 Challenge Stradale of the noughties, and the screaming, naturally-aspirated 458 Speciale. While clearly descended from its track-focussed forebears, the Pista took the performance game on to a whole new level, with a 710 bhp, twin turbocharged, flat-plane crank, 3.9-litre V8. Despite the addition of forced induction, the Pista still revved to 8000rpm, and was good for 2.8 seconds to 60 mph and 211 mph flat out. Fearsomely quick yet approachable and delicately balanced, the Pista garnered praised from all corners of the motoring press at launch, with Jeremy Clarkson even anointing it as his supercar of the year in 2019. Only in production for two years, this June’s event will offer an opportunity to savour a car that will likely go down as a high-water mark for internal combustion performance cars.
This summer’s show will also welcome Woking’s razor-sharp rival to the Pista, the 675LT, in ultra-exclusive ‘Carbon Edition’ guise. The 675LT, or ‘Longtail’, paid homage to the ultimate iteration of the McLaren F1 GTR, with its extended rear bodywork. When launched to the world in 2015, the ‘LT’ had quite a reputation to live up to, and entered a crowded field, battling it out with track-honed rivals from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. Luckily, the viscerally thrilling LT was up to the job, with a twin-turbocharged, 666bhp 3.8-litre V8, a 100kg weight saving over the already dainty, carbon tubbed, 650S, and exhilarating dynamics. The Carbon Edition variant that will be on show this June is exceptionally rare, with just 25 examples produced by McLaren Special Operations. Each car featured 40% more carbon fibre than the standard, 1230kg, 675LT. Menacing with exposed weave carbon used for all the bodywork and dramatic aero additions, this limited-run special is increasingly sought after by McLaren aficionados.
Classics
June’s automotive extravaganza will also include performance icons of yesteryear, among them a plucky Brit that took the fight to the established supercar order in the early 1990s, pushing the boundaries of performance: the intimidatingly old-school Jaguar XJ220. Jaguar’s flagship supercar had a protracted – at times challenging development; by the time it was launched in the recession hit 1990s, the concept’s blue-blooded V12 had been replaced – due to cost and emissions challenges – with a gravelly twin-turbocharged V6, derived from the motor in the Metro 6R4 rally car. The presence of a more industrial powerplant irked some deposit holders – many already spooked by the recession; shifting the 282 production cars, which retailed at £470,000 – around £850,000 in today’s money, proved a challenge. However, those who stuck with the XJ220 were rewarded: Autocar, in their initial road test review, deemed it “the most accomplished supercar ever made”. With 542 turbocharged bhp, performance was violent: 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds – despite the heavy manual gearshift – and a top speed of 212 mph; it even claimed to be the fastest production car in the world for a time. In 2022, the raw, analogue, driver aid-less XJ220, enthrals more than ever, and can even be viewed as rather innovative and forward thinking, in an age of downsized turbocharged supercars. This increasingly appreciated – and collectible – totem of British engineering ambition is another performance icon not to be missed.
Managing Director at London Concours, Andrew Evans, said:
“Super and hypercars have always been central to the London Concours, which is now renowned for bringing the rarest, most spectacular machinery to the heart of London. With 2022’s exciting ‘Pursuit of Speed’ class we will celebrate manufacturers’ ongoing quest for ultimate road-car performance. With a fantastic range of exotic machinery, June’s show is set to be the most spectacular yet.
“Away from the cars, guests to the Honourable Artillery Company will be treated to a decadent range of food and drink options, and a thoughtfully curated line-up of boutiques and luxury brands. London Concours 2022 is set to be another spectacular automotive summer garden party, and an occasion of total indulgence.”
Tickets are on sale now at londonconcours.co.uk/tickets
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