The countdown is underway to the summer’s most fun-filled pair of family motoring weekends.
And visitors to this year’s CarFest North and CarFest South will be able to feast their eyes on some of the most desirable and valuable cars ever made.
First up is CarFest North, at Cheshire’s picturesque Oulton Park racing circuit from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August 2.
The three-day extravaganza, hosted by Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, is a celebration of fast cars, cool sounds and festival food – and together with sister carnival CarFest South, has raised more than £3.5m for BBC Children in Need in three years.
Chris Evans at CarFest North 2014
After the Magnificent Sevens of previous years, this summer’s car line-up will count down from 12 to F1.
First up there’s the Dirty Dozen – tyre scorchers from Evans’s own collection of Ferraris, Aston Martins, Mercs and Jags.
They will be followed by the Sporting Bear Eleven, the Race Car Ten, Iconic Nine, Hot Rod Eight, Supercar Seven, Rally Six, Furious Five, Fun Four, Dragster Three, Dynamic Duo and Formula One.
Stand-out models include a Ferrari 250 SWB, Aston Martin GT12, Paul Newman’s Nissan 300ZX racer and something called the Flux Capacitor – a customised Enfield Electric car built by TV’s Jonny Smith with a 500bhp electric motor in place of the original 8bhp one.
And if it’s Grand Prix cars you crave, well McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, Toleman, Arrows and Benetton will all have F1 cars on track.
In the pink at CarFest North 2014
That’s in addition to an Austin A60 pick-up dragster, Colin McRae’s Subaru Impreza rally car, a La Ferrari supercar, 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe and a 1968 VW Split Screen camper.
There will also be displays from car clubs and celebrations to mark 60 years of the Citroen DS, 50 years of the Ford Transit and Alfa Romeo’s 105th birthday while the Sporting Bears charity will be offering passenger rides in a variety of classic and supercars.
Music fans can enjoy gigs from the likes of The Boomtown Rats, Take That, Seasick Steve, Jools Holland, Paloma Faith, Texas, Will Young and The Feeling all performing either at CarFest North or CarFest South – for some, at both.
The bad news for those who haven’t booked their tickets yet is that CarFest South – at Laverstoke Park Farm, Hampshire, from August 28-30 – is fully sold out, as are the Saturday and Sunday at CarFest North.
There are still a limited number of tickets left for the Friday at CarFest North, costing £60 for an adult and £11 for those aged 6-16. The majority were snapped up within minutes of being put on sale during Evans’ Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2.
Full details of both CarFests can be found on the official website at www.carfest.org
I Want Candy – action from CarFest North 2014
