A DAY AT THE 1965 LONDON MOTOR SHOW

26 June 2025

The 20th of October 1965 and the first question is whether to attend the London Motor Show during the day, and spend a whole pound, or wait until five pm, when the price drops to ten shillings. That is before you consider the many and various temptations of Earls Court:

Green car

  1. Firstly, there is Stand 145 to see the 1300, the first FWD Triumph. Paul Grosvenor owns this splendid 1969 example. The original price of £796 12s 11d includes a multi-adjustable driver’s seat, a folding rear armrest, a steering column that can be altered for height and reach and a wood veneered fascia. There is even a Thunderbirds-style “All Systems Go” circular dial of eight warning lamps.
  2. The Triumph 2000 Estate is equally appealing and would certainly cut a dash in the Golden Egg car park.
  3. Next, Stand 120 is a ‘must’ for the latest MGB GT - “elegance and sophistication£ all for just £998 8s 9d - plus a rear seat suitable for uncomplaining children. 
  4. However, your children are known to complain so the six-seater Cresta PC on Stand 132 seems more practical. Vauxhall promised a “Dynamic Personality’” and the “Space Curve” styling is certainly different from the outgoing PB. The Standard version is £956 2s 11d with a heater another £16 10s, and “Screenclean” windscreen washers another £2 19s 6d. Investing an extra £112 in the quad headlamps De Luxe seem a wise idea.
  5. Vauxhall also offers another new model launched in 1965. The more compact Viva SL - “Super Luxury” - is apparently as “as sure-footed as a mountain goat” and “designed with the driver in mind”, with a “graceful side-flash". 
  6. On Stand 139 the Ford Corsair now has V4 power, the 1.7-litre De Luxe costing £785, and the twin-carburettor 2-litre GT is £909. Ford GB say the Corsair is now “The Car That Is Seen But Not Heard”. 
  7. Stand 157 boasts a car with eight side doors and seating for 12 – the Checker Aerobus. The concessionaire charges £2,950 for a left-hand-drive version and you are half tempted to call WIMbledon 0163 after the show to arrange a test drive. 
  8. Equally tempting (and equally unsuited to a driveway on the Elm Lodge Executive Housing Estate in Southampton) is the Oldsmobile Tornado on Stand 128 – a 7-litre V8 front-wheel-drive coupe that looks as though it belongs on Stingray.
  9. Slightly more practically, Austin on Stand 119 has the Mini and 1100 with four-speed AP automatic transmission. Morris offers virtually identical models on Stand 133 – how can the British Motor Corporation make a profit with such badge-engineering?
  10. Moving to Stand 123 there is Wolseley’s version of the ADO16. The Wolseley 1100 is a “superb car” that is “Ideally suited to modern motoring conditions” for £767 9s 10d. This logically leads you to Stand 148 with its Riley Kestrel stablemate for £780 18s 9d. To quote one advertisement: “Why do Riley owners look so dashed superior? Test-drive the new twin carb Riley Kestrel – and you’ll find out!”.
  11. Stand No. 147 highlights the Peugeot 204, a car of ‘firsts’ for the marque: a transverse  aluminium SOHC 1,130cc engine driving the front wheels, all-independent suspension, and front disc brakes. Alas, import duties mean that at £982 14s 7d the 204 is vastly more expensive than the Triumph 1300. 
  12. Next, head to Stand 101 to see the latest Auto Union Audi range with four-stroke engines instead of the previous two-stroke DKW units. 
  13. Stand 122 has the magnificence that is the Citroën DS21 Pallas. “Citroën has achieved the impossible in its quest for perfection” claims the sales copy and if only you had £1,977 3s 9d to spare...
  14. ...and that handsome Mercedes-Benz W108-series 250SE on Stand 102 is equally out of your financial reach.
  15. The same applies to the BMW 2000CS on Stand 97, but half the enjoyment of the London Motor Show is its vicarious motoring pleasures.
  16. Stand 107 offers the automotive temptation that is the Aston Martin DB6 – one in Silver Birch, another in Fiesta Red and both equally desirable. 
  17. Still dreaming of yourself as the Laurence Harvey or Diana Rigg of outer suburbia, your next port of call is Stand 140 to imagine yourself behind the wheel of that Carmine Red Jensen CV8 FF with Ferguson four-wheel-drive.
  18. On Stand 109 AC is displaying the prototype of a 7-litre Fura-bodied convertible. It could be yours for a mere £4,250 – or around seven times the price of a new Mini.
  19. Alternatively on Stand 153, the Pininfarina-styled Ferrari 500 Superfast is just £11,518 15s – more than four times the cost of a Jaguar E-Type. It is rumoured Peter Sellers has already ordered a 500 Superfast.
  20. Speaking of that great actor, Stand 170 features an Austin Mini Cooper S Radford de Ville with a tailgate – the sort of car you instantly associate with such a film star. Harold Radford have also created an Aston Martin DB5 Estate Car – ideal for 007 on his rare weekends off.
  21. A further coachbuilt vehicle to catch your eye is the Ogle-bodied Reliant Scimitar GTS (Glazing Test Special) on Stand 166. A four-seater three-door grand tourer version of the Scimitar is such a good idea you hope that Reliant create their own version.
  22. At last, you arrive at Stand 112 to marvel at the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow with its monocoque construction - a ‘first’ for the company – and all-disc braking powered by two camshaft-driven hydraulic pumps. The suspension has an automatic hydraulic height control and Rolls-Royce built the Silver Shadow’s accumulators and pressure limiting valves under licence from Citroën.  
  23. Meanwhile, Stand 141 contains the Silver Shadow’s Bentley counterparts. The Evening Standard reports the T-Series on display - one in Carribean Blue and the other in Smoke Green over Sage Green – were circled by two bowler-hatted gentlemen “accompanied by deliriously happy looking chauffeurs”; a scenario that belongs in an episode of The Avengers.
  24. Ever conscious of your budget, you make your way to Stand 106 where the stars are, of course, the Renault 16 in De Luxe and Grand Luxe forms. That hatchback’s bodywork is certainly distinctive, and you can even suspend the rear seat backrest from the grab handles.
  25. And Stand 154 plays host to Toyota making their first appearance at Earls Court. Prices start at £790 16s 11d for the Corona saloon. £843 14s for the estate car, £1,077 4s 10d for the 1600S four-door and £1,194 3d for the 1600S Coupe.  The importer Pride and Clarke Ltd hoped to sell 150-200 RT40s in the UK over the coming year but surely no-one in the UK would buy one of those Japanese cars...

With thanks to Paul Grosvenor for their time.
 
With thanks to Paul Grosvenor for the permission to use the images in this blog.