April 12, 2023

September 2023 saw the Compose staff back on the road with the triumphant return of the much anticipated Munich Motor Show.

But before we were able to dive into the rather dichotomized world of the 2023 IAA Mobility forum, our journey took us on a wild petrolhead’s safari through London.

When booking our travel arrangements from the US to Munich, I rather intentionally booked us an entire day’s layover in London. It was to serve as a primer to what I thought would surely be a whirlwind of German automotive excellence in Munich. We had thirteen hours, and only one objective: get from London Gatwick airport in the South, to Heathrow airport in the East. In that time I hoped to sample as much English finery as London could throw at us.

And we certainly did.

Michael, Theo and I stepped off the plane to a perfectly British morning: a tad chilly, overcast, and thick with fog. We booked an all day pass for the London lines for £40,and stopped into M&S for a healthy early morning breakfast of Oasis and Fruit Gums.

By 6:50 we were already through customs and on our way to London proper. Having come directly from New York City, the quiet train ride through the southern line was a pleasant change of scenery. The dark green “countryside” of England is a far cry from the concrete canyons of NYC and Newark.

The ride offers a nice moment of decompression after a solid 24 hours of travel. Perhaps it’s only a figment of my tourist-laden American mind, but the grass actually does seem greener in the UK. My rose-colored glasses turn a shade more blue, as the woman across the aisle from us scratches away at the imaginary bugs crawling under her skin– a long 24 hours for us both I imagine. The glimpses of suburban London vanish as high rise apartments come into view and the morning fog begins to clear.

In a strange moment of clarity, I reflect on how grateful I am to be on this journey– traveling with two of my best friends, on our way to cover an event I remember reading about in other people’s magazines. Of course it was a very different event back then, as I would come to learn later.

We step out of Victoria Station into a still slumbering Westminster. Now ravenous after our confectionary based breakfast, we wander down Victoria Street on the lookout for both a more substantial meal, and any interesting cars.

We find the car before the food; the first find of the day: a great looking Mercedes S63 Coupe in matte black. Seemingly the perfect car for the area. Subtle enough when you want it to be, but still capable of announcing your presence w ith a hearty bellow from the 4.0L twin turbocharged V8 as you trundle your way through morning traffic.

After spotting the S Class but no breakfast, I open Google Maps to see what was around. As it happens, on a Sunday morning in the middle of Westminster City, nothing is really open.

However, I did see that we were just a stone’s throw away from the world-famous Goring Hotel. Renowned for their afternoon tea and delightful pastries. When in doubt, you can always find breakfast at a hotel.

As we made our way towards the Goring the smell of bacon and sausages greets us from down the block. Unfortunately the top-hatted man that actually greeted us, very kindly and politely told us to get lost and find breakfast somewhere else. So our search for both cars and cuisine continued. Luckily one of my favorite cafes was only a short walk away on Piccadilly.

Knowing the cafe wouldn’t open for around another hour, and since it was Michael’s first time in London, I figured it might be nice to take the scenic route around Buckingham Palace.

That ended up being a great decision, as at 8:20 on a Sunday morning, the place was completely deserted. At risk of sounding even more touristy, it was an exceptionally cool experience. A place that I had only ever seen through crowds of people was dead quiet and completely open.

After a few pictures and some deliberation on what the position of the flag meant (The King was not in), we headed on through Canada Gate and into the aptly named Green Park. Areas like Green Park really help contribute to what makes London such a special city for me. There are great monolithic blocks of buildings everywhere, but they are interspersed with beautiful pockets of nature. There are little pockets of green all over the city.

As we walk on to Piccadilly and make our way towards Richoux we pass by the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Recalling the last time I was in London, I poke my head down Arlington Street and spot the day’s second item of intrigue: a wonderfully specced Ferrari SF90 Stradale.

It was the first time any of us had seen the car in person, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by its presence. Previously, I had a rather poor opinion on the design of the SF90, having only ever seen it in photos. There was something about it that seemed not “Ferrari-ish”. The lines looked too sharp and too aggressive. I thought it lacked the subtlety that all Ferrari’s of yesteryear seemed to maintain.

It always seemed like if you placed the contemporary Ferrari flagship next to its Lamborghini counterpart, you could always envision the good guy in a movie driving the Ferrari and likewise the baddy driving the Lamborghini.

With the SF90, its morality feels a little more ambiguous. I think it is the front end– it’s rather distracting. The headlights are very aggressive, almost McLaren-like, and draw the eye downward into the large grimacing front intake. So much so that you almost forget to look at the rest of the car. I think it may be the first Ferrari with a scowl.

And that’s a shame, because I really think it’s a great looking vehicle. It is still missing something that earlier models like the 458 had, but I must admit, it certainly does look stunning in person. As we left the Ferrari and went about our way, I wondered what other rarities we would encounter.

We arrived at Richoux just as the doors were being unlocked, now very aware that the last “meal” we had was the previous day’s tea in The East Village. Ravenous, I order the full English and a cappuccino. I was jolted back to life by the coffee and further resuscitated by the nice crisp bacon, and the lightly charred tomatoes. Having such a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere to enjoy and decompress after our long journey was truly a godsend.

After consuming enough carbs, fat, and sodium to paralyze a small animal, we head back out into the sleepy streets of London.

Replenished and recharged, the next automotive morsel we come across is a respectable Lamborghini Huracan. Compared to the SF90 the Huracan appears almost reserved. In London, a supercar like this seems almost reasonable.

One thing that I have always appreciated about London is how cars seem to fit into their environments. It’s like a sort of Feng Shui. During our wanderings, we found many such examples of this automotive spatial harmony.

On different sides of the same coin, this Bentley Muslane colored in a subtle champagne just fits so well tucked in between the red brick and white stone. These cars were designed for this city. We found Bentleys and Rolls Royces on almost every corner in Mayfair. And yet they never became pedestrian or boring.

Like the buildings themselves, no matter how numerous or normal they are, they contribute to the local aesthetic and help accent the cultural identity of the city. These cars are just as much architectural landmarks as the buildings they park outside of.

But London wasn’t all block, stone and luxury limos. This Ferrari Portofino looks quite classy in the iconic “Rosso Corsa.” As the last generation’s “budget” Ferrari the Portofino doesn’t get much respect amongst enthusiasts, which I think is a bit unfair.

Sure it’s not as beautiful, or anywhere as fast as its V12 older sibling. And it’s not exactly value for money at $250,000. You can get just about the same usable performance metrics from a BMW m850i, and for $120,000 less. Not to mention the BMW having actual rear seats usable  by people over the age of five.

But, at the end of the day it is still a Ferrari, and one you can enjoy every single day without worrying that it will explode, or lose all of its value if you actually put miles on it.

And that counts for a whole lot. Similarly to its predecessor the California, the car sold well and received few complaints from those who actually bought it.

I’m hoping that one day the Portofino and its M model will go the way of the California, and end up as actual entry level Ferraris at the $100,000 mark.

I’ll take an M in Scozia blue please.

As our time in London was winding down, and the threat of our next international flight loomed large in front of us, we began seeing more and more outrageous cars.

While wandering down Grosvenor Street, a dash of metallic blue caught my eye. Much to my surprise, parked in a small courtyard outside the Biltmore Hotel was a Ford GT – the first second generation GT I had ever seen. In 2019, Ford had initially planned to produce only 1000 GTs over the car’s four year production timeline. But after overwhelming demand, Ford decided to extend production to a further 350 units. And still customers couldn’t get enough of them. And truly who could blame them.

The GT is truly striking. The use of hard and soft angles, and the way the design incorporates negative space makes the car look like something that belongs flying in low earth orbit rather than driving on the roads.

It was a treat to see this piece of American motoring artwork on the streets of London. So imagine my surprise when a couple blocks down the street I saw another one.

his is essentially the best car show most towns in America could ever see. Two Aventadors, a 488 Pista, an 812 Superfast, and a Ford GT. It is somewhat annoying that they’ve parked an Urus in the mix, but I suppose it’s interesting enough to somebody.

At that point we really were coming down to the wire, and didn’t have much time to stop and take photos. So regrettably, I called an Uber, and we were on our way.

The Uber ride turned out to be just as eventful. Driving a very respectable and classy Range Rover, Nicholas asked us what business we had in London.

After hearing about our business, Nicholas, a fellow car enthusiast, told us how good the engine on his Diesel L405 has been, and asked us if we had seen any interesting cars on our travels. We discussed how amazed we were at the variety of exotics we had seen. He asked how much of a hurry we were in. We told him we had a few minutes.

Nicholas then proceeded to take us on a supercar tour of London. While driving we saw every manner of Lamborghini, Ferrari, and McLaren. But there was one car that Nicholas spotted that he insisted we pull over and get pictures of.

And understandably so. One of 918 ever produced, this Porsche 918 is one of the rare Weissach editions with 90 pounds of weight saving and the additional aero options. It’s hard to believe that this car’s design is now over ten years old. It still looks futuristic and spectacular to this day. With its hybrid gas and electric system, the naturally aspirated V8 produces nearly 900 hp. A powerplant that according to many reports, can propel the car from 0-62 mph in a gut wrenching 2.2 seconds.

There is a reason the 918, the Ferrari LaFerrari, and the McLaren P1 are referred to affectionately as “the holy trinity”. When these cars launched in 2013 they were seen as the pinnacle of what artistry and engineering could come up with.

Today, ten years later I think they still are – while in Munich, I got to see the 918’s successor up close, and I’m not sure it holds up. But all of that lay ahead. At that moment I was over the moon. It was like seeing a tiger in the wild.

Seeing this car and getting to chat with Nicholas about his cars and the local car culture was the perfect end to our 12-hour London adventure.

With that leg of our journey over, we settled in at Heathrow for the final flight of our 36 hours of nonstop travel.