Don't miss our Earls Court Ferrari fest at Revival

For those who remember queuing up outside Earls Court, brochure bags at the ready, in order to get a glimpse of some new Ferrari or other, Revival has a special treat in store. A special motor show display with nothing but Ferraris!

Revival this year will be corralling 19 prancing horses, spanning seven decades, into the central concourse at Revival’s popular take on that great British institution, the Earls Court Motor Show.

The real Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London is now just a pile of rubble, but Revival’s homage to it captures the art deco style and continues to be one of the defining images and most popular attractions of the whole event. This year that’s sure to be truer than ever, not just for a host of promised model debuts from top manufacturers but for the magnificent display of sports car greats from the show’s 2015 featured marque.

So what can we expect to see? More or less the whole history of Ferrari road racers via some jewels of the motoring world. Seven of the cars take the top seven places in the respected 2005 Motor Trend report, The 10 Greatest Ferrari of all Time.

Oldest car is the 166 MM Barchetta from 1950, just three years after Ferrari made its first model. Number six in the Motor Trend report, the 166 established Ferrari’s reputation in sports car racing in events like the Mille Miglia (hence the MM).

Sixty five years later and providing an astonishing contrast is this year’s 488 GTB. In 1950 the 166 made do with 140hp from the 2.0-litre Colombo-designed V12; the 488 has 670hp from its turbocharged V8.

GRR’s Chris Harris has driven both generations of cars and a quick revisit of his videos is definitely called for at this point. You can see his drive of the 212 Barchetta (the 166’s successor) here  and his track test of the latest 488 GTB here.

In between that pair at Earls Court will be more true Ferrari greats: the 250 GTO (No1 greatest Ferrari according to Motor Trend), 365 GTB/4 Daytona (No2), 275 GTB/4 (No3), Enzo (No4), 250 SWB (No5) and the 246 Dino (No7). And if that lot’s not enough, get your eyes out on stalks over the 288 GTO, 250 GT Fantuzzi, 308 GTB, 512 Berlinetta Boxer, 599 GTO, F50, Testarossa and LaFerrari.

And if you think Ferraris aren’t just for looking at? Well, we agree, and suggest you head trackside for Race No6 on Saturday 12 September – and the unforgettable sight of 30 1950s Ferraris going pedal to metal in the Lavant Cup race.

The incredible 250 GT SWB has been bequeethed to the RNLI by renowned Ferrari V12 collector Richard Colton, and the charity will bring it to Revival to join the amazing array of Ferraris.

Guy Rose, legacy manager at the RNLI, said: “We are deeply grateful and humbled by Mr Colton’s generous gift and his decision to benefit the RNLI in this way. Six out of every 10 lifeboat launches are only made possible because of gifts left to us in wills, so they are vital to saving lives at sea. Mr Colton’s generosity will be felt most by our volunteer crews and the people whose lives they save.”

As they say, wild horses couldn’t keep us away…

Meanwhile…if all this has brought on a touch of nostalgia for the old Earls Court show, try this minute-long video from the show in 1952, courtesy of British Pathé.