Old meets new at the Regent Street Motor Show

London's West End can be a no-go zone in the weeks leading up to Christmas. But this year the inaugural Regent Street Motor Show will provide a welcome relief from less-than-dazzling light displays, C-list celebrities and frazzled fellow shoppers.

On Saturday 5 November the RAC and the Regent Street Association will join forces to present a free motoring spectacular that will reflect the best of veteran cars and brand-new green vehicles.

The Regent Street Motor Show will cover more than a third of a mile of the famous London shopping parade -- from Piccadilly Circus up to Conduit Street. The centrepiece will be the Concours d’Elegance, which will include around 100 19th-century veteran cars. Drivers and passengers will be in elegant period attire -- so as not to detract from the beauty of the vehicles.

In a neat twist, the Regent Street Motor Show will act as a sort of crossover event for two major rallies centred around Brighton that weekend.

So, if you're a fan of the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, the Regent Street Motor Show will offer a preview of some of the vehicles taking part in Sunday's rally.

For those more interested in eco-friendly cars than elegant motoring, the Brighton to London RAC Future Car Challenge will also take place on Saturday 5 November. Visitors to London will able to see some of the energy-efficient 21st-century cars that have just completed the run up from the South Coast.

Twentieth-century cars will also get their share of the spotlight at the inaugural Regent Street Motor Show, in a celebration of 1960s motoring. For a few hours "Swinging London" will swing again, as Jaguar E-type and Mini Cooper both celebrate a half century. (Feel free to turn up in a miniskirt or flares.)

The organisers are expecting crowds of up to 250,000 for the Regent Street Motor Show, which runs from 10.30am to 4pm. That figure would be even higher if they could find a 007 to get behind the wheel of the Jaguar E-type.