British sports car brand Lotus will be a centre of attraction at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power next month.
The popular Cheshire festival will celebrate 65 years of Lotus with a concours, parade and class on track all dedicated to the British marque.
On the pageant’s opening day (Friday, June 12) visitors will be treated to a parade of all production Lotus models ever manufactured, organised by the Historic Lotus Register.
A highlight within the parade will be the only Lotus MKII, a unique car built in 1949 by Colin Chapman and which competed in trials, speed tests and circuit racing.
The MKII will be joined by another one off – the Ian Walker, aluminium bodied, Lotus Elan based on the race version driven to a class victory by Sir Jackie Stewart in the 1964 Montlhery Prix de Paris.
These rarities will be joined by a range of Lotus models including a 1972 GS Europa, a 1954 MK6 and a 1960 Elite.
Overseeing Friday’s celebrations will be Clive Chapman, son of founder Colin, who will also be bringing a Lotus 11, which has always been owned by the Chapman family.
Ian Walker’s aluminium-bodied Lotus Elan
Out on track throughout the weekend, visitors will see a 1963 23B, Colin Chapman’s first and only mid-engined small capacity sports racing car, put through its paces.
Another highlight joining the Lotus celebrations is a type 18 once driven by Sir Stirling Moss to victory in the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix – the first F1 victory for Lotus.
James Hall, event director at CPOP, said: “Lotus has been a pivotal part in Britain’s automotive and motorsport history over the past 65 years, which is why we wanted to honour the wide range of production and race cars produced by the marque.
“We look forward to sharing such a great selection of motors with the public and reminding them of the great contribution Lotus has made to the industry.”
Now in its eighth year, the pageant will celebrate power on land, air and water with events including a 1,000bhp-plus class on the Cholmondeley track.
Alongside the Lotus marque on Friday, the festival will also honour American Muscle cars on Saturday and Eighties supercars on Sunday.
With bike fans in mind, legends Dougie Lampkin and Sammy Miller will be on hand throughout the weekend, while on the lake will be watersport action including jet ski racing and flyboarding demonstrations.
And Sunday will see the world’s only flying Vulcan take to the skies above Cholmondeley, with the Red Bull Matadors performing an aerobatic display.
Tickets are on sale at www.cpop.co.uk for the event at Cholmondeley Castle, Malpas, Cheshire. Adult tickets are priced from £29 with children’s tickets starting from £7.
