Building on the successes of the Regent Street Motor Show and St James’s International Concours, the Royal Automobile Club is proud to announce the St James’s Motoring Spectacle for Saturday, 2 November.
Like its predecessors, this exciting new free-to-attend event will take place on the eve of the world famous RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, during the Club’s own London Motor Week activities. It will now, however, have a prominent new home on the capital’s prestigious Pall Mall, in the heart of St James’s, which will be closed to through traffic for the day thanks to support from Westminster City Council.
Like no other car-themed showcase in the UK, the unique and innovative Motoring Spectacle will celebrate motoring past, present and future, with significant focus on both educational activities and how today’s carmakers are embracing sustainability.
Visitors will be treated to five dedicated zones on Pall Mall.
The first of these will host the much-loved St James’s Concours featuring around 70 of the pre-1905 pioneers participating in the following day’s Veteran Car Run.
The second zone will feature a collection of significant cars from RM Sotheby’s blue-riband auction taking place on the same day, and which itself boasts a brand-new venue in the Peninsula London hotel on Hyde Park Corner.
An educational display charting the history of the car with a focus on alternative technologies and sustainability will fill zone three, with thought-provoking content as well as interactive advice on skills initiatives and careers within the industry.
Zone four will be a heritage display presenting a timeline on how motoring has developed from the end of the horse-drawn carriage era, through internal combustion engines, and on to the latest generation of modern electric power. Sustainable fuels, such as those already ably demonstrated by the Club’s own veteran cars on last year’s London to Brighton, will be showcased. This heritage section will also celebrate major motoring milestones including 125 years of both Renault and Fiat plus 50 years of Volkswagen’s game-changing Golf family car.
The final zone will put the focus on modern design, providing the public with a rare opportunity to see some of the most spectacular super- and hypercars. The emphasis, though, will be on how today’s manufacturers are embracing cutting-edge technology to meet – and exceed – sustainability mandates.
Maximising its pole position outside the Royal Automobile Club’s historic clubhouse on Pall Mall, the St James’s Motoring Spectacle will also engage with local retailers and businesses. As an example, the Iconic Images Gallery on Waterloo Place will host a world-class exhibition of motoring and motorsport-themed art from leading artists in the immediate run-up to the Veteran Car Run.
“We are delighted to announce the St James’s Motoring Spectacle – a very special, free-of-charge, educational and entertaining experience set right in the heart of London,” confirmed Duncan Wiltshire, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club.
“The Royal Automobile Club has always been at the forefront of promoting excellence and innovation within motoring. This wonderful new show will not only celebrate the freedoms motorised transport has provided but also forecast the car’s future role within a fast-changing world. We must thank Westminster Council for sharing our vision and helping us turn these plans into a must-see reality.”
The creation of an inclusive event celebrating the motor car, its cultural impact and the important part it will continue to perform in the years ahead will also further promote the special theme of the 2024 London to Brighton. This November’s Veteran Car Run is honouring the 120th anniversary of the Ladies’ Automobile Club, which staged its first ever event at The Athenaeum Club on Waterloo Place and the Carlton House Terrace in 1904.
Full details of both the St James’s Motoring Spectacle and the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run are available on the official www.veterancarrun.com website.
