It’s called the Six Nations Shootout, a contest to be staged at the London Classic Car Show which takes place February 18-21. The idea is to allow show visitors to see 10 classic vehicles from each country and then vote on which country has produced the best cars.
The countries are Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. The cars will be parked along the show’s centerpiece Grand Avenue.
“The Six Nations on The Grand Avenue started as a bit of fun, but as we have been curating each nation’s representatives it has developed more of a serious edge,” show director Bas Bungish said in a news release.
“Each country has some serious metal ready to uphold their national pride so it’s really hard to decide which one might come out on top by the time the show closes. Ultimately the decision lies with the visitors to the show.”
Britain will be represented by cars from the likes of AC, Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Jensen and Lotus, including a 1925 Bentley 3-liter in British Racing Green, an E-type, a Jensen FF, AC Ace, Lotus Esprit and Aston Martin Lagonda.
The French display will include vehicles such as the Renault 5 Turbo and Peugeot 205 T16.
The Lamborghini Miura supposedly destroyed in the opening scene of the 1969 movie The Italian Job (it was a stunt double that actually was wrecked by a mafia-controlled bulldozer) will be part of the Italian entry to include cars from Ferrari, Fiat, Lancia and Maserati, among them the Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopio, a Fiat Dino, a Ferrari 250 Lusso and the only non-red Ferrari F40.
German cars are to include an original Audi quattro, a Porsche 356 Speedster and several BMWs, including a CSL “Batmobile,” an original 328 and an Mi.
Representing Japan will be a Datsun 240Z, a 1972 Skyline GT-R, a Toyota 2000GT and a Toyota Sports 800, and the Prodrive Subaru Impreza rally car, among others.
American cars will include an original Ford Thunderbird, a Cadillac Series 62 coupe, and others yet to be announced.
The show will be held in the ExCeL center in London’s Docklands.
