When Lord Cholmondeley decided to institute a transport event to take place in the extensive grounds of his property, located about 18 miles west of Crewe in rural Cheshire he had in mind something which would take the best elements of the ever more popular (and costly!) Goodwood Festival of Speed, but with some added variety to make his Cholmondeley Pageant of Power something rather special. What he did not have in mind was that after months of careful planning, it would all be imperilled by terrible weather, yet in four of the five years since inception this has been the curse, with heavy rain doing its level best to ruin everything for spectators and participants. So much so that for 2012, the organisers decided to move the event from mid July when it had always been held, to a date earlier in June, following a careful review process to select what statistically is usually the driest part of the year. That meant a clash with the 2012 Vingt-quatre heures du Mans, which was unfortunate, as I found out, for having enjoyed a day at the 2011 event, I had agreed to pull together an official Abarthisti presence as a Car Club Display for both weekend days of this 3 day event, and found that many of those who would normally have jumped at the offer were committed to head to France. Nonetheless, with a few cars booked to attend on the Saturday and 14 on the Sunday, I was looking forward to what promised to be an excellent weekend, and all the build up publicity material that I saw only heightened my expectation.
After three months of the wettest drought on record, I was optimistic that the weather gods might spare us, but as the three day event came ever closer, it looked increasingly unlikely that this would be the case. Indeed, the weather on the Saturday was truly revolting with strong and biting winds and driving rain almost all day, which meant that the already wet ground soon turned to mud. Indeed, on arrival, and following the directions to the area allocated to Car Clubs, it was very apparent that there was going to be a huge problem getting cars in and out, as despite the presence of hardcore in a few places, there was very deep mud elsewhere which meant that every arriving car was getting stuck. This was at 7:30am, when few cars had even arrived. After having to be pushed out by 6 people (!), I parked up and headed off to enjoy the day, and found the organisers hard at work, laying straw and sawdust in the already churned up public walkways, which did help a lot, but it was still very difficult underfoot. Later, I discovered that the Car Club parking area was closed off almost immediately after I had arrived, so any subsequent pre-booked cars had to go in a general car park. News of this must have got out, as on the Sunday, when the weather was much kinder, to the extent that even mild sun burn was more of a hazard, many of the Car Clubs must have decided not to come, as the display area remained largely empty. This was such a shame, as the event would have been even better with that space filled with interesting machinery. Despite all this, it is estimated that over 50,000 people did visit the event, which made it the best attended yet, and there was plenty to see. I present here those attractions that I caught on camera.
PADDOCK DISPLAYS
AERO-ENGINED CARS
For many, these were the highlight of a well stocked Paddock. The Technik Museum in Sinsheim had brought along Brutus, a fabulous 47 litre BMW aero engined monster built on a 1903 LaFrance chassis. The engineering is basic, but effective, though the car is clearly quite a handful on the tight circuit here.
Chris Williams, an slightly eccentric gent to be seen in a bowler hat when not kitted out for the track had his 24 litre Napier-Bentley and Mavis, the 42 litre Packard Bentley Whenever these cars were started up, a huge crowd formed around them – and not just to get some warmth from the exhausts. You could see flames up to a foot long coming out of the exhausts of the Packard-Bentley. Needless to say, these cars are hard work on a tight circuit like Cholmondley, with their lack of lock making most of the curves very challenging indeed.
Another car in this category was the 27 litre Hispano-Delage. Quite mad!
Celebrating 50 years since the launch of the Cobra, there were a good number of these beasts on show, with many of them taking to the track. The display included a Daytona Coupe and one of the very rare Greyhounds.
ALFA-ROMEO
One of my most favourite cars of the entire event was this, a 1932 8C 2300 Monza.
ARIEL
Autocar’s Matt Prior was at the wheel of the Atom V8 again. Those of you who read the magazine will have read his “confession” that he failed to set the fastest time of the day and that if the Atom V8 were to be capable of this, his view is that it would need someone else driving it! There were a couple of factory engineers on hand, so clearly Ariel were taking this all quite seriously.
ASTON-MARTIN
One of the most valuable cars at the event was this, the last One-77, still owned by Aston Martin. Needless to say, given the conditions, it was taken quite carefully around the circuit.
Nearly as valuable is this DB4GT, one of the short wheelbase cars made in 1961/2.
AUDI
One of the most distinctive sounds was that of the Sport Quattro which meant you could identify this car in action even if you could not see it
AUSTIN
This 1930 Special sported a most unusual three cylinder aero engine. It was piloted by Chris Williams’ daughter, so would appear to be yet another car owned by this eccentric collector.
AUSTIN-HEALEY
The Speedwell Sprite
BAC
Fastest time around the circuit on 4 wheels was set in the Mono, an impressive 63.06, though it has to be pointed out that a bike managed to shave 2 seconds off that time!
BENTLEY
Although there were plenty of Bentley to be seen as course cars, this new Continental GT was competing for honours on the circuit.
Rather less familiar is this Speed 8, a very un-Bentley looking creation indeed.
BMW
Slightly surprisingly, the loudest car of all on the circuit was this, the E30 M3
BRM
P568 Stackpipe
The Yardley-BRM Type 126 dating from 1975.
CATERHAM
SP300
COOPER
This one had a thunderous big Chevrolet engine in the back and made quite a sound.
DAF
The bodyshell may well be a Daf 55 (sort of), but underneath there is no variomatic transmission, but a conventional gearbox and a 5 litre V8 engine and a rear axle from a March F2 car. Steve Cropley got to drive this on the Sunday.
FERRARI
Two years on, the 458 Italia is still not that common a sight on our roads, so it always attracts lots of attention.
FIAT
All that is original Fiat on this device is the Fiat badge. Completely bonkers!
FORD
Fords in the Paddock included the Mark 2 Escort, an original GT40, a Mark 1 Lotus Cortina and a recently created Transit SuperVan.
FRAZER NASH
1933 TT Replica
GRINNALL
Over 500 of these three wheel Scorpions have been made over something like a 10 year period.
JAGUAR
Rarest Jaguar of the day, for sure, was this XJR15, one of a series of just 20 which were built in 1991.
This is one of three XJ220s that was made for racing in Italy, which is why it is a left hand driver car.
Other Jaguars included a 3.4, a C Type and a short nose D Type, along with an XK140 and this fabulous SS100
LANCIA
The iconic Delta Integrale and Stratos, the first car purpose designed for rallying.
LEXUS
LFA
LISTER-JAGUAR
LOTUS
There were a good mix of Lotus models, ranging from pure racers such as the Type 18 and the Type 69 Formula 3 car, the GT Lotus Type 30 along with the Formula 1 Lotus-Lamborghini Type 102, to modified road cars such as this coupe backed Shapecraft Elan and an Elite which was found about 30 years ago in a particularly tatty state and restored to the lovely condition in which it is now presented.
McLAREN
Static display role only for the MP4-12C.
MERCEDES-BENZ
The latest SLS Spider.
In complete contrast was this a modern replica in the style of the classic W196 racer. This one, based on the chassis of a W124 has a 3 litre straight six engine and modern mechanicals clothed in a recreation of the original body style, which, just as with the original does without paint to save those final few kgs of weight.
MINI
NISSAN
Driver of this GT-R was a youngster called Jann Mardenborough. He was the ultimate winner of a competition in 2011 which started out using skills on racing simulator games, and ended up with him winning professional training from Nissan. He was clearly trying very hard on the day, with fourth fastest time of the day, though the scars of a brush with the armco were perhaps not quite what Nissan had in mind!
In complete contrast, a Leaf was parked up as part of the eco display.
NOBLE
M600
PORSCHE
Sadly, this Carrera GT did not leave the event in the state shown in the pictures, as on his second outing on the Saturday, coming up over the brow of the hill just from the start line, the driver lost control, and wacked the car into the straw bales. Game over and cue some expensive repairs. Everyone else was that bit more cautious for the rest of the day!
The latest 911 Carrera S model was grouped up with the supercars.
RENAULT
Steve Cropley’s car for the weekend. He left it on charge most of the time, because he said that curious attendees kept getting in, playing with it and leaving the lights on. He’s clearly a fan of this device, and he put in a very spirited demo lap of the circuit, achieving a commendable 49 mph at one point.
SENTINEL
Rather too big to be housed in the Paddock, and a definite fire risk anyway was this splendid Sentinel Steam lorry, which put in some majestic and rather slow parade laps at lunch time on each day.
VAUXHALL
This Maloo put in a most impressive time of 72 seconds around the circuit, beating supposedly faster cars such as the Noble M600.
Also putting in a good time (relatively) was this 1926 30/98 from the Vauxhall Heritage Collection.
WILLIAMSFW06
BIKES
There was an impressive collection of motorbikes in the Paddock as well. Attracting most interest were two oddities brought over from the Sinsheim Technik Museum. The world’s longest motorbike was just a bit unwieldy but this was nothing compared to the amazing 1910 Edison Puton Monowheel, where the rider seemed to have keep his feet on the ground as he went around the circuit. Good business for the cobbler, for sure.
By comparison, these other machines were all quite conventional.
DEALER DISPLAYS
No sign of the Abarth UK marketing caravan this year, but there were plenty of other manufacturers on show, represented in most cases by a local dealer. They were distributed across a couple of different locations, withe the more “prestige” cars in the centre of the event, near to the Paddock, and the others in an area near that intended for the Car Clubs.
ASTON-MARTIN
This Rapide was very nice.
AUDI
A small display from the vast Audi range included the R8 and the RS5.
BENTLEY
The Local, and as such there was a comprehensive display of the latest range on show, and more of the cars were pressed into service as course and event cars.
BMW
BMW brought along a range of cars, many of which were making their inaugural UK appearance. All the cars were unlocked, though whether this was such a good idea as the pale coloured interiors of most of them were not coping with the wet and muddy conditions!
From the 6 series range were the recently on sale 6 Gran Coupe which I do like (but not at the ambitious pricing which it bears) and the soon to go on sale M6 which seems to have rather disappointed the UK motoring press.
3 series cars included an M Sport version of the F30 model, which I thought looked particularly fussy and awkward at the front. Somehow, I imagine I will be in a minority saying so! There was also “Chrome Bullet”, a rather striking M3.
The new M135i 3 door is probably the best, or rather the least bad, looking of the F20 1 Series cars.
Elsewhere BMW had a right hand drive X6 M50d, so we can safely assume that this car will indeed go on sale in the UK.
CITROEN
Representatives of the current range included the a couple of the new DS5 model, along with the popular DS3 in a rather individual colour scheme
FERRARI
The latest California, looking good in red
FORD
Most interesting vehicle in the Ford area was this, a beautifully restored Ice Cream van based on the 1960s Anglia.
JAGUAR
Examples of the current range were on the lawn area, near to dread rival BMW.
LEXUSOne of the first UK events for the new GS saloon and also the facelifted RX cars, but this “stand” appeared to be creating about as little interest as the one at Canary Wharf had done earlier in the week. RX sales are strong, but sales of other Lexus models are weak these days.
MASERATI
MINI
Among the cars on show here was a Limited Edition 2012 Olympics car. The special trim is quite tastefully done (in comparison to how it could have appeared), though models like this (remember the Panda World Cup in 1990?) tend to have limited interest once the big sporting event is over.
NISSAN
Nissan concentrated on the more “interesting” models from their range, with 370Z and GT-R representing the sporting models and the Leaf the technologically worthy.
PORSCHE
This was the first time I had been able to inspect the new Boxster from close quarters.
There were examples of all the other models in the Porsche range, from new 911 to the more familiar Cayenne, Panamera and Cayman.
SEAT
Newest vehicle here was the Mii.
SKODA
A lot of cars were packed into a small area. The new Citigo was among them.
VOLKSWAGEN
Lots of new models and an old “Herbie” Beetle. Compare this with the latest squashed-roof Beetle (none of which I have seen on UK roads yet, even though it has been on sale since February) and decide which one you prefer.
CAR CLUBS AND THE CAR PARKS
The area allocated to Car Clubs suffered more than any other, and although the organisers did everything they could to try to get the cars in somewhere, this meant that on the Saturday, many of the more interesting cars were confined to one of the public car parks, and although things were a lot better on the Sunday, the weather forecast clearly deterred a lot of people from attending. Sadly, most of the 50 or so pitches allocated to Clubs remained completely empty even on the Sunday when the liberal deposits of straw and sawdust had made entry and exit possible. Nevertheless, a wander among those cars which were on show, plus a once around some of the car parks elicited these:
ABARTH
On the Saturday, my car was the only one parked up in the officially allocated area, as the organisers closed entry off minutes after I arrived, and although a couple of other Abarthisti were apparently at the event, I saw neither them nor their cars, though I did find a bicolore 500C in the car park. On Sunday we amassed 5 cars, all 500s, and these seemed to be creating the usual levels of interest as there was nearly always someone asking about them whenever we were back at the cars.
ALVIS
Very nice TD Convertible
ASTON-MARTIN
Very nice DB2/4 Drophead and a V8 Vantage Volante
AUDI
Not much in the way of interesting Audis to be found in the car parks, though I did come across this R8
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AUSTIN
There were not many pre-war cars, but this diminutive Austin Seven was in the car park.
AUSTIN-HEALEY
A scattering of Healeys were to be found in the car parks on the Saturday, but on Sunday they had managed to assemble a group of cars in the space allotted to the Club.
BENTLEY
The Crewe car maker need not fear about the popularity of their cars, even the latest rather bulbous Mulsanne, as there were several in the car parks.
More to my taste was this Continental R.
BMW
Not many classic BMWs, but this 635CSi was rather nice.
BUICK
CHEVROLET
Corvette
CHEVRON
CITROEN
In among the trader stalls was this H Van.
FERRARI
It is well known that Ferrari owners tend not to come out in the wet, so it was not a surprise to find very few of their cars here, but there were a few.
FIAT
The Fiat Coupe Owners, who usually mount a strong showing at events like this had just three cars in their display area.
FORD
Not that many “interesting” Fords, though my eye and camera were attracted to this Capri, a “squarebird” Thunderbird, an early Mustang and a GT.
GILBERN
JAGUAR
Among the many Jaguars in the car parks were an array of E Types, several Mark 2s and a number of more recent cars.
LAMBORGHINI
Among those in the car park were this Diablo SV and a couple of Gallardos.
LANCIA
A small showing of MonteCarlos were present on the Saturday.
A more diverse showing on both days included a number of Integrale, a Stratos and an S4.
LOTUS
A few cars braved the mud into the Car Club display area.
Rather more Lotus were to be found in the main car parks, with a particularly strong representation from Excel owners.
MARCOS
This lone early 3 litre model that parked in the Car Club area on the Sunday should have been joined by the other Marcos that I encountered in general parking.
MAZDA
The MX5 Owners Club had an impressive assembly of all three generations of this much loved sports car.
MERCEDES-BENZ
Parked up just like any other ordinary car was a McLaren SLR, an SLS and a lovely R107 model SL
MG
A small gathering of recent MGs, mainly F/TF models looked like they had been in the Car Club area for all three days.
Elsewhere I found some more MGs, including this TC.
MINI
Two classic Minis were parked up near my car on the Saturday. On the Sunday the space was given over to a local “new” MINI Club who brought along a large selection of their cars and crammed them into a small space, even though nothing was parked up in any of the adjoining plots.
MORGAN
Morgan Owners are a hardy breed, but even they had sought shelter under some trees!
NISSAN
Skyline GT-R
NOBLE
Goodness knows how the Noble Owners got their cars through all the mud to the display area, but somehow they had managed it!
A second M600, looking like it had a hard life, even if it was only accumulated on the way into the event was parked up among the trailers and motorhomes that had brought many of the Paddock display cars.
PEUGEOT
A rare sighting now, one of the facelifted 309 models.
PORSCHE
A small gathering of Porsche in the Car Club Display area.
RELIANT
A beautifully presented Sabre 6.
RILEY
This beautiful RM Tourer was in the trade area.
In the car parks, I found these.
ROLLS-ROYCE
There were plenty of Rolls-Royce in the car park.
ROVER
This lone SD1 in the Car Club display area on Sunday was complemented by the P5B Coupe I found in the car park.
SAAB
A fabulous early Sonnet.
SINGER
This pair of Le Mans sports cars were to be found parked up close by each other.
One of the last Singer cars made was this, a Chamois Coupe.
SUBARU
SUNBEAM
Last year there was a huge showing of the Tiger. This year, just a couple, sadly.
TRIUMPH
There was a good showing from the Stag Owners Club. On the Saturday, their cars were in the car park, on the Sunday some of them were in the Car Club display area
This pair of GT6s looked rather lonely in the much larger area allocated to them. On the Sunday, the population had reduced to just one. Others were to be found in the car park.
There were plenty of TRs of all generations at the event.
Saloon models included the 2000 and the Dolomite.
Oldest Triumph was this 2000 Roadster.
TVR
On Sunday there was quite a grouping on TVR in the Car Club display area, whereas on the Saturday they were more dispersed.
ULTIMA
VAUXHALL
From the contemporary era the VXR Club had a showing of cars on both days. Classics of the future? Maybe, though how unmodified they will have to be is a question that only time will tell. The Monaro was not parked up with them, but is already en route to modern classic status.
The second generation Astra GTE – one of the first cars with a digital dashboard – is now a rare sighting on our roads. Here was one.
Interesting reminder of the past with the showing from the Cavalier and Chevette Owners. The display included the original press launch Cavalier, known to the oldest Cavalier in the world, as well as a now unique LS model, and a couple of SportsHatch cars.
This Chevette is one of those proverbial “one owner, low mileage then garaged and not used for a long time” cars, hence the condition.
In the car parks, I found a couple of “Droop Snoot” Firenza models, and these were joined on the Saturday by an HB Viva GT and on the Sunday by a Chevette HS.
This mid 1950s Cresta would have been an indulgent purchase at the time, as this was the more luxurious version of the big selling Wyvern and Velox cars.
VENTURI
OTHER DISPLAYS
BOND VEHICLES
A selection of vehicles that have starred in Bond films over the years, as currently on show at the National Motor Museum, were huddled together under a large canopy. A shame, as in fine weather these could have taken advantage of the large space around them and been better enjoyed
TOP GEAR
Two stars from recent shows were here: the Citroen Ami from the Mallorca classic car rally and the BMW Z3 that James May drove in the “Three Wise Men” Christmas special.
RALLY RAID
SPORTING BEARS
The Sporting Bears had an array of cars available, and in exchange for a “donation”, varying dependent on the car, people could get a ride in one of these cars. They were located right at one end of the site and I suspect that quite a few people failed to find them. As ever, the cars awaiting a tour of duty presented an interesting line up.
ATTRACTIONS
One of the main differences between the Cholmondeley event and Goodwood is that the former includes all manner of other forms of transport. Rib rides were available on the lake, we were treated to a demo of a live rescue of some hapless soul who was winched out of the lake (all planned, so he was dressed for his cold immersion!) by helicopter, there were tank rides on offer, the Breitling Wing Walkers battled the elements including a strong wind and low cloud, the Abarth stunt plane showed some amazing acrobatics and manoeuverability, and on Sunday the Red Arrows flew overhead early in the morning, doubtless en route to the Cosford Air Show, and back again in the evening. One of the most spectacular shows was of three motorcycle stunt riders who impressed with several flawless ascents over a large juggernaut, landing very neatly.
Overall, this was a great event. It is such a shame that the weather reduced the number of participants, but all credit to the organisers who did their absolute best to ensure that the show went on. I received a very nice email from them on the Monday morning, apologising – as if the weather was their fault – and offering some form of special Car Club event at Cholmondeley later in the year. Needless to say, I will accord that high priority. Let’s hope that 2013 is the year that Cholmondeley finally gets lucky with the weather – it certainly deserves a weekend sunshine.
2012-06-29 17:04:21
