2024 All British Motor Show at Blackhawk Museum
Published on . Event was held at Blackhawk Museum on .
#auto show #british cars #California #car meet #cars #event #photo gallery
Lovely event at the Blackhawk Museum parking lot. That’s the closest car museum to me, after Canepas shop, and I haven’t been to it yet.
No, I didn’t manage to visit it on the day of the show. And that’s a good thing!
This is the most family-like gathering of car enthusiasts I’ve ever attended. A small tight-knit group, not trying to impress anyone or attract crowds of visitors. I believe it is organized by the Mini Owners Club (not the NorCal Mini group).
It is not the largest car meet, and while the name of the show sounds a bit too catchy — All British Motor Show, you will see unique and classic British cars here. I can’t think of another event in the greater SF Bay area, where you get to see so many different cars from the Albion.
Pebble Beach Concourse comes to mind, but it doesn’t specialize in British cars and is much more expensive to attend. Also, the caliber and price of vehicles present is not comparable.
Historic races at Laguna or Sonoma do see their fair share of mini-coopers, but Jaguars and MGs are not very common.
If brands such as MG, Triumph, Austin-Healey, Sunbeam, Ac Cobra, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Mini are close to your heart, you will enjoy your time here.
Also, if you are, like me, tired of Porsche (or, let’s be generous here, German cars), have been to Concoroso Italiano and saw Italian exotics, and are longing for something new and different, this show is for you!
There were a few modern cars on display and almost no brand new ones, apart from a moon-rover-like all-carbon-fiber 2023 Ariel Atom and a stunning Lotus Emira in Magma Red.
I saw a few familiar faces: Jaguar E Type, XJS, Minis — original and new ones, obviously, but the rest — wow, I’ve opened a Pandora’s box!
This year’s event was dedicated to the centenary of MG, and a bigger lot of the two was filled with MG cars. MGC GT two-door stole my heart — what a cute-looking coupe! No wonder RBW uses this body to bring it back under electric power.
MGC Roadster looks great, but I prefer the sideline of TR4/TR250. I feel like the original Fiat 124 Spider has a similar design for the door and rear quarter panel. What an elegant take on hood bends around car headlights! Adorable!
Just these two cars would make my visit worthwhile. But this is also one of the most accessible and friendly car meets — it is free, not a part of Monterey Car Week (thanks god!), plenty of parking nearby, and I don’t think lots of people know about it. I arrived 30 minutes before the scheduled start — participants were still arriving in their beautiful cars and no spectators to speak of.
The parking lot is surprisingly photogenic — it’s surrounded by trees providing a beautifully scattered shadow in a low, soft, and warm October sun. Trees wear a full palette of fall colors. Now, with a row of matching colors mini-coopers in front, this is the place to spend your Sunday.
Something needs to be said about the modest size of the show — by my own estimate it’s about seventy cars. This is the perfect size to see all the cars maintaining focus, and not feel like you took a strenuous hike at the end of the day.
Blackhawk Museum is located at the end of a Blackhawk Plaza, which is unusual, but very handy — easy to get a coffee or a sandwich at the nearby grocery store.
Once a date for the next year is announced, I will add this event to my calendar. See you there!
P.S. Most of the cars pictured are cheaper than they seem to be.