Incredible Lotus Collection at CPOP 2015
Discussion
On Friday 12th June, I took part in a very special Lotus meet – an unprecedented collection of Lotuses at the Cholmondeley Pagent of Power in deepest (and beautiful) Cheshire. I thought it was more than deserving of a short report…
Lotus was the main feature on the first day of the 3 day event. The Historic Lotus Register, chaired by Malcolm Ricketts, had organized for the very first gathering of every road-going Lotus model ever produced – from the Mark II, built in 1949 for trials, through to the latest Evora and Exige S. All the cars involved firstly took part in a parade on the circuit (2 laps) in Mark/Type number order, followed by a display on the cricket pitch and concours.
Arriving at the meeting point opposite the Cholmondeley Estate, I knew immediately this was going to be a very special day. Driving through the car park, looking for a space amongst the iconic shapes of the Seven, Elan, Europa, Elite, Eclat, Excel, Esprit, not to mention the very special Lotus Cortina, Sunbeam and Carlton, and many, many more. Clive Chapman was in attendance all day in his jaw-dropping yellow Lotus Eleven, driven by his two sons, possibly the most beautiful shape of all.
Taking part in the track parade was very special – with the public taking photos and video of us and many of the cars announced as we started our runs. Some of us chose to back off a little to create some space, only to find on pinning the throttle that there were some interesting cambers on the circuit, and some challenging corners. The temptation to go for some ‘air’ at the final bridge was also too much to resist for many!
Cheshire Classic Cars organized the display and together with Steve Berry and Stuart Graham judged the concours. Scott Walker was there with Oakmere and I’m sure he spent more time pouring over all the display cars than on his own stand! It was great to finally meet Scott, as he had helped me with his previous knowledge of my own car, and his passion for all things Lotus is amazing.
The sheer range of cars on display was incredible – 8 decades of production; the evolution of Lotus design over the years was there to see in all its glory. The impeccable condition of all of the cars was something to behold – I never thought I’d find myself just staring at the interior of a Lotus Sunbeam, or marveling at the unpainted bodywork of a Seven S1, whilst seeing a 340R, Evora GTE and Esprit ‘World Champion’ Edition in the corner of my eye on the same day.
Late afternoon the concours results were announced, and presented by Clive Chapman. A stunning BRM Elan won Best in Show, but I was then completely knocked off my feet to be presented with the runner up trophy for my Elise S1 Sport 160. There were four other trophies also, for a Mk1 Lotus Cortina, Lotus Carlton, the blue Ian Walker Elan, and one more I can’t recall (but I will update this when I remember it!).
It was the perfect end to a brilliant day.
Here are some photos – I’ve uploaded them all to Imgur, and included a selection below too. Apologies for the 'trophy' photos but I haven't stopped grinning yet rolleyes.gif
http://imgur.com/a/49mPP
I don’t have any photos of the cars on track as I was driving, but there are some excellent ones on SELOC here, and I'm sure more will emerge! http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php?tid=406617&...
If anybody has any photos or video clips of the Lotus parade on track (or the display), I'd be very interested to see them. I know there were a few photographers around the circuit so please get in touch!
Lotus was the main feature on the first day of the 3 day event. The Historic Lotus Register, chaired by Malcolm Ricketts, had organized for the very first gathering of every road-going Lotus model ever produced – from the Mark II, built in 1949 for trials, through to the latest Evora and Exige S. All the cars involved firstly took part in a parade on the circuit (2 laps) in Mark/Type number order, followed by a display on the cricket pitch and concours.
Arriving at the meeting point opposite the Cholmondeley Estate, I knew immediately this was going to be a very special day. Driving through the car park, looking for a space amongst the iconic shapes of the Seven, Elan, Europa, Elite, Eclat, Excel, Esprit, not to mention the very special Lotus Cortina, Sunbeam and Carlton, and many, many more. Clive Chapman was in attendance all day in his jaw-dropping yellow Lotus Eleven, driven by his two sons, possibly the most beautiful shape of all.
Taking part in the track parade was very special – with the public taking photos and video of us and many of the cars announced as we started our runs. Some of us chose to back off a little to create some space, only to find on pinning the throttle that there were some interesting cambers on the circuit, and some challenging corners. The temptation to go for some ‘air’ at the final bridge was also too much to resist for many!
Cheshire Classic Cars organized the display and together with Steve Berry and Stuart Graham judged the concours. Scott Walker was there with Oakmere and I’m sure he spent more time pouring over all the display cars than on his own stand! It was great to finally meet Scott, as he had helped me with his previous knowledge of my own car, and his passion for all things Lotus is amazing.
The sheer range of cars on display was incredible – 8 decades of production; the evolution of Lotus design over the years was there to see in all its glory. The impeccable condition of all of the cars was something to behold – I never thought I’d find myself just staring at the interior of a Lotus Sunbeam, or marveling at the unpainted bodywork of a Seven S1, whilst seeing a 340R, Evora GTE and Esprit ‘World Champion’ Edition in the corner of my eye on the same day.
Late afternoon the concours results were announced, and presented by Clive Chapman. A stunning BRM Elan won Best in Show, but I was then completely knocked off my feet to be presented with the runner up trophy for my Elise S1 Sport 160. There were four other trophies also, for a Mk1 Lotus Cortina, Lotus Carlton, the blue Ian Walker Elan, and one more I can’t recall (but I will update this when I remember it!).
It was the perfect end to a brilliant day.
Here are some photos – I’ve uploaded them all to Imgur, and included a selection below too. Apologies for the 'trophy' photos but I haven't stopped grinning yet rolleyes.gif
http://imgur.com/a/49mPP
I don’t have any photos of the cars on track as I was driving, but there are some excellent ones on SELOC here, and I'm sure more will emerge! http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php?tid=406617&...
If anybody has any photos or video clips of the Lotus parade on track (or the display), I'd be very interested to see them. I know there were a few photographers around the circuit so please get in touch!
Edited by daveb99 on Monday 15th June 14:52
droopsnoot said:
With apologies if any of these actually turn out not to be Lotus, I'm no expert and haven't got the programme here. I don't think any of these are actually from the parade on Friday, just from the various runs over the weekend.
Yep, they are all Lotuses.These two are incredibly rare.
Lurking underneath all of that blueness is a baby Elan. It is one of a couple of Elans converted by Ian Walker Racing.
The green thing is a GS bodied Europa. Styled by William Towns (Aston Martin Lagonda etc). I think that a dozen were built.
I was only there on Sunday, but managed to squirt my Esprit round the course two or three times without bending anything.
Splendid fun.
YouTube video now available. My first attempt at editing, and at Youtube!
https://youtu.be/gIa67uOHLFg
https://youtu.be/gIa67uOHLFg
Pat H said:
Yep, they are all Lotuses.
These two are incredibly rare.
The green thing is a GS bodied Europa. Styled by William Towns (Aston Martin Lagonda etc). I think that a dozen were built.
Cheers - I was aware of the GS Europa, thought I'd forgotten it's name. I have an old magazine article on them somewhere, at the time I remember thinking how much I preferred that design over the standard Europa.These two are incredibly rare.
The green thing is a GS bodied Europa. Styled by William Towns (Aston Martin Lagonda etc). I think that a dozen were built.
I've been to every CPOP but never stood right at the top near the hairpin before - there seems to be a bit of a bump here as well.
droopsnoot said:
I've been to every CPOP but never stood right at the top near the hairpin before - there seems to be a bit of a bump here as well.
Thanks for the pic!Yep. The hairpin was very tight.
Given the all-or-nothing power delivery of the Lotus, the bend was a bit too slow for second gear, so it bogged down slightly.
A combination of mechanical sympathy and cowardice prevented me from attempting any first gear heroics.
I was only scheduled for a quiet trundle behind the pace car, but I was told I could have a proper squirt if I could borrow a helmet.
I didn't need asking twice...
It was my first time at Chomondeley and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
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