Videos and photos of the cars shows at spectacular London event, including the line up of veteran cars attempting the London-to-Brighton Run
London did what London does best today – mixed elegance with engine oil. Pall Mall transformed into a living timeline of motoring at the St James’s Motoring Spectacle 2025, a glorious preview to tomorrow’s London-to-Brighton Veteran Car Run. The whole street hummed, clattered, and occasionally coughed to life as machines older than most family trees sat alongside the latest electric wonders.
It was the sort of event that makes even the most jaded Londoner stop mid-flat-white and grin. Here were cars that pre-date the Wright Brothers’ first flight, sharing tarmac with hypercars that could probably lap the planet faster than those old timers could leave Westminster. And yet, there they were, side by side – brass and carbon fibre, hand-cranks and battery packs, kerosene lamps and laser lights.
The veteran cars, of course, were the real stars – every one of them a mechanical time capsule, polished and prepared within an inch of its life and ready to head for the coast at sunrise. Their proud owners stood nearby in period dress, chatting amiably about magnetos, mixture levers, and bravery. Watching them line up in front of the Royal Automobile Club, you couldn’t help but feel you were witnessing something quintessentially British: eccentric, brilliant, and utterly devoted to keeping history alive on four (often spindly) wheels.
Lotus Esprit 50th Anniversary
But the show didn’t stop there. Sharing the spotlight were a few modern birthdays worth raising a glass to – the Lotus Esprit’s 50th anniversary brought out a spectacular wedge-shaped line-up that could have been mistaken for a Bond film reunion, while the VW Polo, celebrating half a century of humble heroism, reminded us that not all legends need supercar credentials.
Then there were the future-forward displays: Renault’s reborn 4 and 5, electric reincarnations parked beside their classic ancestors. It was a clever bit of storytelling – proof that nostalgia and innovation aren’t enemies but partners in evolution.
And because this is London, and London can’t resist a bit of theatre, the day wrapped up with some proper show-stoppers leaving the scene – the Ferrari Daytona SP3, the line-up of Esprits, and the all-electric Lotus Evija, all rumbling (or in the Evija’s case, humming) away through the narrow canyons of Pall Mall.
If you want to experience it for yourself, both videos are embedded here – plus Shorts/Reels from Instagram.
There’s something deeply reassuring about events like this. In an age obsessed with algorithms and autonomy, watching enthusiasts fuss over century-old engines reminds you that motoring is still about connection — to machines, to memory, to motion itself. The St James’s Motoring Spectacle isn’t just a car show. It’s proof that the automobile remains one of humanity’s most expressive forms of art — whether it’s whispering electrons or wheezing pistons.
If you weren’t there, you missed a treat. But that’s all right — I brought it to you. Hit play, turn up the volume, and let London’s grandest automotive street party roll past your screen.
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