2012 Canary Wharf MotorExpo: Supercars & The Chrysler Kingpin

Picture the scene: you're a hotshot investment banker heading to work in Canary Wharf

18 May 2015

It's 8am and you've broken the back of the week - it's Thursday, yay! What better way to start your working day in your glass-windowed office than to have millions of pounds worth of metal sitting in your reception ready for you to drool over and lure you into whipping out the Coutts cheque book.

Yes, welcome to the 2012 Canary Wharf MotorExpo - the car show for buyers, not just press, where the vehicles in question range from the latest Mini Cooper S through to the decidedly mental ABT GTS R8.

After being greeted by Optimus Prime at the entrance to Canary Wharf tube station, visitors (and bankers) are ushered towards Canada Square, towered over by tremendously tall office blocks, to sample the cars on offer. Let's start off with the juiciest and most expensive metal.

Correct, that's a Dodge Challenger SRT. However, it's pretty obvious to see how this American muscle car differs from the standard 470hp Hemi V8 beast. It's sitting on enormous rubber and I'm sure is destined to a rapper's garage somewhere in the US.

In the foyer of one of the investment banks also sat an array of exotics - anyone for a Lamborghini Aventador? Someone was evidently having a peak under the 'hood' to sample the V12 which churns out 690hp and is capable of brain haemorrhaging within seconds. Not that I would know of course...

A Ferrari FF and the revised Aston Martin V8 Vantage also sat on the polished marble floors with test drives available 'round-the-block' for prospective customers. And further round the corner were a duo of McLaren MP4-12Cs and the MP27 F1 car you're likely to see yellow-helmeted Hamilton cruising around in every other Sunday on BBC (or Sky, grr).

However one of the main manufacturers to stand out on the grassy turf in Canada Square were Chrysler, displaying a variety of products ranging from the Ypsilon to their Chrysler 300C. In metallic black and looking rather menacing, this car made its show debut at MotorExpo with an all-new 3.0-litre V6 236bhp engine. The car is available in Limited and Executive trims which gives you options such as keyless entry, auto temperature control and automatic windscreen wipers, presumably to wipe the Sicilian rain from your windows - that's where this car is destined to, right?

There's no denying it, it's a beast of a vehicle and whilst it does face stiff competition from more attractive European rivals (read: Mercedes-Benz E Class and BMW 5 Series), it's got the potential to improve sales for Chrysler if not only because of where it's being launched!

Find out more or alternatively if these images tickled your fancy, you can even Order a Test Drive now. Now that's 21st century.

Another notable cars on display at the 2012 Canary Wharf MotorExpo which is open until this weekend included this stunning Bentley Continental GTC V8 (yes, the one with the nice soundtrack rather than the W12 thud) in shocking yellow trim and yellow interior stitching to match.

Bentley Continental GTC V8