Best car shows to visit in 2022
24 January 2022
There’s a wealth of wonderful car shows scheduled for 2022 across the UK. These events make a wonderful day out for any car enthusiast: aside from the rows of beautiful vehicles, there's the chance to meet and chat with fellow enthusiasts and perhaps pick up that bit of essential advice or elusive part you've been hunting for.
You might even want to take along your own classic to exhibit. If so, we're pleased to offer static show and historic rally cover as part of our classic motor insurance here at Lancaster.
Here are some of the best car shows coming up in the next 12 months - just remember to check each event’s website before you travel to make sure they’re definitely going ahead.
Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show
18th-20th March, NEC, Birmingham
With hundreds of traders, specialists and owners' clubs in attendance, this huge annual event contains pretty much everything for the classic car enthusiast. Whether you're looking for your next restoration project, need advice or parts to finish a long-term enterprise, want to hook up with other owners of your marque, or just simply want to gaze on hundreds of beautiful classics, it's all here. More than 1,000 cars are on display, plus around 150 car clubs and 250 exhibitors and autojumblers. You'll also find a classic car auction, competitions, practical workshops and much more.
Salon Privé London
21st-23rd April, Royal Chelsea Hospital, London
The organisers of the prestigious annual Salon Privé have created this a new international luxury car event for springtime. In contrast with the Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace, which is centred around the Concours d'Elégance and its exclusive vehicles, the London event promises to be more eclectic and energetic. All classics are welcome.
Best of British Car Show
23rd April, Santa Pod Raceway, Northants
As the name suggests, this is all about the classics from our own little isle. From prestige models to rare productions from small UK firms, you'll find a delightful and eclectic array of British automobilia here. There are prizes for Best Mini, Vauxhall, Ford and so on, plus plenty of opportunities to go round the track or try the Handling Circuit. If you bought British when it came to choosing a classic car, this could be the event for you. Remember to get some classic auto cover arranged before displaying your vehicle in public.
Simply Italian
24th April, Beaulieu Motor Museum, Hampshire
This is another themed event, focussing this time – you've guessed it – on some of the automotive marvels that have been dreamed up in Italy over the decades. If you've got an affinity for Alfas or a love of Lamborghinis, if you're a Maserati maven or a Ferrari fan, this event will be for you. Gaze on rows of these beautiful and stylish vehicles and hook up with some fellow Italo-enthusiasts.
Donington Historic Festival 2022
30th April-1st May, Donington Park, Derbyshire
Always a big event in the classic car calendar, this year's Donington Historic Festival will feature some eye-catching races and rallies. These include a Historic Touring Car Challenge – think Ford Escorts and Capris, BMW CSL 'Batmobiles', Rover SD1s, Triumph Dolomite Sprints, Golf GTIs and more.
Elsewhere, the RAC Pall Mall Cup is an epic three-hour race for pre-1966 GT and sports cars. The Sixties Touring Car Challenge, meanwhile, is open to Group 2 and Group 1 Touring Cars from 1966 to 1969. Just picture a fleet of Mk 2 Lotus Cortinas, BMW 2002s, Alfa Romeo GTA variants, early Mk 1 Ford Escorts, Mk 2 Minis, Lancia Fulvias and others, all careering around Donington's various twists and bends. Bliss.
Sportscars in the Park
8th May, Newby Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire
All sports and classic cars are welcome at this big shindig at Newby Hall in North Yorkshire. Later in the year, Sportscars in the Park returns for an autumn instalment – at Castle Howard, also in North Yorkshire, on 4th September. Both events are held in the grounds of large stately homes, and there is plenty of family fun laid on to accompany the ranks of beautiful vehicles.
Retro Rides Weekender '22
21st-22nd May, Goodwood, near Chichester, West Sussex
A weekend devoted to celebrating classic, retro and modified cars in all their glory. You'll find a wealth of classics-related fun here, including paddock displays, sprint track action on the Saturday, and retro cars on display all over the site on both days.
12th June, Norman Park, Bromley, Kent
Another big player in the UK classic car calendar, the Bromley Pageant typically welcomes some 3,000 classic cars (and various other fascinating vintage vehicles) to the green expanses of Norman Park. There are displays, enthusiasts and friendly club stands galore, while the 'one-make' parking sections mean that cars of the same marque and model can be parked together. This is the place to get some great views of the ranks of Ford Cortinas or Aston Martins all lined up together. You'll also find a live action arena, car parades, a kids' zone and plenty more.
Retro Show 2022
19th June, Santa Pod Raceway, Northants
Another classic car show? Well, yes and no. Yes, there will be impressive numbers of classic cars and bikes at the Retro Show. The difference here is that, as well as the opportunity to park up your classic car and draw plenty of admiring looks and probing questions, you can also race it up and down the Santa Pod Raceway – Europe's first permanent drag racing venue for 1/4 and 1/8 mile racing. All retro vehicles from the 1950s to 2000 are welcome. Just make sure your classic car insurance covers you for racing if you’re taking part.
Goodwood Festival of Speed
23rd-26th June, Goodwood, nr Chichester, West Sussex
Clear your diaries for this weekend in June as the Goodwood Festival of Speed makes its glamorous return. One of the world's biggest and best celebrations of car culture, the FoS is essentially a huge summer garden party, in some very beautiful parkland, devoted to celebrating all the glamour, beauty and excitement of motorsport and classic motoring.
Get up close to a smorgasbord of vintage cars and bikes as they blast up Goodwood's Hillclimb track, and enjoy unrestricted access to some truly iconic automobiles. Don't miss the Cartier Style et Luxe Lawn, where some of the world's rarest, most beautiful and best-preserved cars can be seen in the metal.
City Concours d'Elegance London 2022
28th-30th June, grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company, London
This is your chance to come and gaze at some of the world's finest cars, elegantly displayed in the gardens of the Honourable Artillery Company in central London. This is for truly high-end and ultra-desirable cars, as you can see from the promotional video which shows a bank of gleaming Lamborghini Miuras, often cited as the most beautiful car ever made, all parked side by side. The 2022 event has three themed days: a VIP Preview Day, a Style Edition Day and, rounding things off in style, a Supercar Day.
British Grand Prix 2022
1st-3rd July, Silverstone, Northants
Yes, of course, the British Grand Prix is primarily about the iconic motor racing event at its centre – but that is merely the centrepiece in a whole feast of fun for the motoring enthusiast. There are bands and street food stalls; there's entertainment aplenty, and oodles of family fun. What's more, petrolheads of all ages will want to step back in time and get behind the wheel of some of the amazing cars that have made Silverstone history, at the Silverstone Interactive Museum.
Royal Deeside Motor Show
2nd-3rd July, Kincardine Castle, Aberdeenshire
One of the biggest motor shows north of the border, the Royal Deeside will once again play host to an impressive gathering of rare automobiles, from classic, retro and performance cars through to agricultural, leisure and heavy haulage vehicles.
The Classic Car Show at Culford
10th July, Culford School, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
A big, well-organised static display event, with around 500 cars displayed around the elegant grounds of Culford School. Last year, some 25 car clubs attended, along with 50 stalls selling crafts, produce and hot food. If you like your motor shows in beautiful settings, this makes a great choice – there's a 2km lakeside walk, and the gardens, terrace and park are open to all.
Classic and Supercars Show 2022
17th July, Sherborne Castle, Dorset
Brilliant all-day festival of car-worshipping events and displays. Masses of wonderful classic, vintage and sports cars will be parading the Sherborne Castle grounds, and there will also be car club and motor trade stands, an autojumble, a craft fair and lots of fun activities for the whole family. Marque- and type-specific parades will be given over to rally cars, Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris – and American cars, including hot rods and customs. It also helps to raise money for good causes, so go and show your support.
The British Motor Show
18th-21st August, Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre, Hampshire
Classic cars and supercars are among the many draws of this major four-day motor show, which returned last year after a 12-year gap.
Tatton Park: Passion for Power
20th-21st Aug, Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
The Passion for Power event is an ever-popular classic car gathering, featuring more than 2,000 beautiful modern and classic cars displayed in all their splendour around the opulent grounds of Cheshire's Tatton Park. With no fewer than 70 Concours trophies on each show day, there's a lot of beautiful metal on show.
Silverstone Classic 2022
26th-28th Aug, Silverstone, Northants
A packed weekend of historic motor racing around Silverstone's world-famous circuit. Visitors get unlimited access to the paddocks and grandstands, as well as the displays from over 100 car clubs featuring more than 10,000 classic cars. There are also interactive driving activities, dynamic demonstrations plus live music, air displays, a vintage fun fair, and a shopping village.
Salon Privé Blenheim
31st Aug- 4th September, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
This hugely prestigious classic car event returns for its 17th year, welcoming more than 100 of the world's rarest and most desirable cars and motorcycles to the extensive grounds of Blenheim Place, Winston Churchill's ancestral seat. You'll find some beautifully preserved vehicles from as far back as the Edwardian era, alongside ultra-rare grand tourers, classic sports racers, era-defining icons and racing legends.
International Autojumble Beaulieu
10th-11th September, Beaulieu Motor Museum, Hampshire
"If you can't find it at Beaulieu, it doesn't exist" goes the maxim. It pays tribute to the fact that the annual International Autojumble at Hampshire's brilliant motor museum features an extraordinary wealth of parts and spares for most of the classic cars out there. If you're restoring an old classic, we recommend two things: some specialist classic car insurance to protect you along your way, and a visit to the Beaulieu Autojumble to find that last gasket or alternator you've been searching high and low for!
Goodwood Revival 2022
16th-18th September, Goodwood, West Sussex
More brilliant classic car festivities at Goodwood. But, whereas the Festival of Speed is a celebration of the fastest and most breath-taking cars to have adorned the world's racetracks down the decades, the Goodwood Revival is more of a fun, light-hearted celebration of all things vintage… centred, of course, on the many wonderful cars of yesteryear. There is plenty of racing, of course, featuring a host of wonderful classic cars from the golden age from 1948 to 1966. Aside from that, though, the Revival is a chance to take a step back in time: dress the part, bring your classic along, and reawaken that post-war spirit.
Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show 2022
11th-13th November, NEC, Birmingham
We’re very proud to sponsor the Classic Motor Show – the UK’s biggest indoor classic car event. Taking over Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre across the second weekend in November, the Classic Motor Show will return with its typically huge and brilliant range of attractions for classic car enthusiasts. You'll find a wide range of owners’ clubs at the show, as well as a large trading area, featuring all manner of crucial and hard-to-find parts for sale. The live stage, meanwhile, will play host to talks from experts and industry leaders. Oh – and we will be there. Need to discuss classic car insurance? You've come to the right place.
Classic car insurance from Lancaster
We mentioned at the start that static show and historic rally cover come as part of our classics insurance package here at Lancaster. Other benefits can include:
- Laid-up cover
- 24-hour helpline
- Car club member discounts
- Choice of repairer
- Two-year Agreed Valuation
Contact us to find out more.
Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.