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Romance, royalty and radical restorations: nine must-see displays at the Classic Motor Show. NEC, Birmingham, 7 to 9 November - less than a week to go

If you are anything like us, photos will only get you so far. You want the smell of oil, the gravel in a race story, the little imperfections that prove a car has lived. Luckily, the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show has all that in spades. We’ve pulled together the standout displays that will have petrolheads pacing the aisles, eyes wide and jaws slack. From an £8 million Jaguar to Bugattis worth around £2.5 million combined, here is a tour of the nine cars or clubs you really want to see in the metal.

Jaguar Drivers’ Club - Long Nose legend worth £8 million

Leading the Jaguar Drivers’ Club display is the 1956 Jaguar D-type Long Nose, chassis 393 RW, one of only eleven ever made and valued at around £8 million. This is not museum silence material. This car won at Reims on 30 June 1956 with Duncan Hamilton and Ivor Bueb aboard, covering 1,332 miles and finishing five miles clear of its closest rival. It ran Le Mans later that summer as race number 1 and set the fastest lap while finishing sixth. That pedigree is the sort of thing that makes the garage walls vibrate.

The Club is bringing marque variety too. BUY 1, a modified Mark I saloon built for the 1959 production saloon season, showcases Jaguar’s competition DNA with a 3.4-litre, high compression engine, triple carburettors and lightweight bodywork. It was campaigned by Roy Salvadori and later raced by John Coombs with plenty of club-level success. Grant Williams will present a freshly restored Jaguar Mark II ‘JAG 400’ with an ex-competition history and Silverstone testing by Stirling Moss in its storybook past. And for an unexpected twist, there’s the Noel Gallagher-commissioned 1967 Jaguar Mark II convertible, a beautifully executed conversion and one of the rarest MKIIs on UK roads.

The Club’s stand will be a proper mix of race history and bespoke roadcraft. Expect magazines, membership chat, and that late afternoon feeling when everyone stands politely in a half circle and stares.

DriveTribe and Richard Hammond - Oliver and the Buick with personality

DriveTribe’s corner will bring a bit of telly charm. Richard Hammond’s Oliver has long been an internet personality in his own right, and alongside Hammond’s Buick from the Grand Tour, it makes for a display that is equal parts celebrity and character car. Oliver has been featured frequently online and on screen, and Hammond’s Buick carries the kind of on-camera lore that makes for great stories and even better photographs. These are cars with personality and a following, and that makes them strangely comforting to see up close.

Tyrrell’s Classic Workshop - a concours Ferrari F40 (worth £2.5 million)

If supercar theatre is your thing, Tyrrell’s Classic Workshop returns with a jaw-dropping, fully restored Ferrari F40. Restored to concours standard and featured across the Workshop channel, this F40 is the fruit of a six-part restoration series completed two years ago. In person, you will see the 1980s supercar at its most clinical and most charismatic. Panels aligned, bodywork immaculate, and that twin turbocharged heart almost asking you to listen closer. The owners and team will be at the stand, so you can ask about the restoration and get the inside story on how to bring an '80s icon back to peak condition.

Ferrari Owners Club - convertibles that prove excellence is standard

The Ferrari Owners Club brings a trio of drop top delights: 360 Spider, F430 Spider, and California. They might not be the rarest Ferraris on the planet, but rarity is not the point. Every Ferrari is a lesson in fit, finish, and engineering precision. These convertibles show that Ferrari’s excellence is standard issue. Open top, glorious soundtrack, and the kind of fit that makes other cars look like temporary constructions. Put simply: they turn heads and make hearts beat faster, even if they are not unique one-offs.

Bugatti Owners Club - three historic Bugatti jewels, £2.5 million combined value

The Bugatti Owners Club will display three remarkable cars whose combined value sits at around £2.5 million. First, the Type 57 Stelvio by Gangloff, 1938, is a superb example of the Type 57 range and attractive for its supercharged Type 57 C lineage. Then there is the Type 50 Le Mans spec from 1931, chassis 50143, one of only 40 built in the short sports chassis. It carries an evocative competition history that includes Le Mans preparation and factory involvement. Finally, the 1932 Type 46S with an original, largely untouched character and long family ownership that reads like a chapter from a motoring novel. Together they form a powerful, elegant slice of pre war automotive history that rewards close inspection.

Alfa Romeo Owners Club - Romance in motion, and three cars that sing

Few marques have captured the romance of the internal combustion engine like Alfa Romeo, and nowhere is that spirit more alive than in the 8C Competizione, Montreal, and ES30 SZ. The 8C offers the growl and composure of a modern classic, the Montreal delivers 1970s drama and flair, and the ES30 SZ is pure automotive theatre with styling built to shock then and still striking now. The Club will bring a wider display too, from the 159 3.2 V6 Lusso to a 2025 Junior Veloce EV that shows Alfa’s nod to the future. But if you want melody, bite, and character, the 8C, Montreal, and SZ are the trio to linger over.

Aston Owners will bring a strong line up including a DB5, DB6 Vantage Volante, LE Coupe and a 6.5 litre DB9. The DB5 needs little introduction and stands as the archetype of British grandeur. The DB6 Vantage Volante and the LE Coupe represent the ways Aston Martin keeps one foot in tradition and one foot in modern engineering. The DB9 on display will illustrate the evolutions owners rely on to keep their cars on the road. And here is a nice human note: on Friday morning at 10:00, the Club will present a cheque to the RAF Benevolent Fund for funds raised by their subscribers. Cars and community, nicely paired.

From the 1956 W187 220 Cabriolet to the 2013 R197 AMG SLS roadster, the Mercedes-Benz Club’s display is a timeline of measured, exact engineering. Highlights include the 1967 W110 230 Fintail, a 1968 W113 280SL Pagoda rally car, a 1971 W108 ‘Red Pig’ tribute, and a rare 1978 W123 250 saloon that is possibly the only 1978 250 still on UK roads. The W123 250 is an oddball gem: a purposeful engine choice for reliability and comfort rather than speed. These cars are about understatement that works and durability that wins hearts over the years of ownership and travel.

NSX Club - four cars, four brilliant stories

The NSX Club’s lineup includes a Japan-only Type S, an Ayrton Senna Tribute NSX, Jenson Button’s 200,000-mile daily driver, and NSX #660, which was lovingly restored and returned to the road. Four cars, four wonderful stories. The Senna Tribute is a nod to racing heritage, the Type S shows the rare factory nuance, Jenson Button’s NSX brings the celebrity connection and everyday use story, and #660 is a proper restoration tale with film set scars and a happy ending. Club camaraderie shines here, with owners who love to talk parts, provenance, and the long drives these Hondas were built to enjoy.

The metal experience beats a thousand photos. You will leave with at least one new favourite classic you never expected to love. See you at the NEC.

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