Rain can’t stop play as Cholmondeley charms

Posted on Jun 13, 2016

On occasion the rain fell in biblical proportions but nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of, well, enthusiasts who flocked to Cholmondeley at the weekend. Tens of thousands attended the Festival of Power & Speed, keen to get up close and personal to motors both modern and historic. The beauty of what is surely the North’s finest motorsport gathering is that you can wander the paddocks, chat to owners about their hugely impressive vehicles and then catch them in glorious action on the twisty track which wends around the Cholmondeley castle estate. The highlights were many, too many to recount in this humble little blog, but no doubt among many punters’ personal faces was “Mavis”, a lovable monster of a machine. This one off Packard-Bentley hybrid was built by Chris Williams by harnessing a 1930 Bentley chassis to a 42 litre Packard 4m-2500 V12 aero-engine. It is both beast and beauty. We were lucky enough to catch on video Mavis, and Williams’ boat-engined Napier Bentley, as they roared toward the start track. Our photographer Martin also caught some spectacular shots of her as she spewed flame from her 24 pipes. Cholmondeley 2016

Somewhat more sedate but no less eye-charming was this 1959 Mercedes 300SL Roadster, a stunningly well-preserved example of this early production run, six-cylinder model. It was brought to the show by Concours hosts Cheshire Classic Cars bearing the not inconsiderable price tag of £949,995. Festival-goers out for a bargain could, though, have bagged a £50k discount. It’s the kind of show where that offer may well have been taken up. Hell, if you had the cash you’d give it some serious thought, no? Cholmondeley festival 2016

2016 Cholmondeley festival of power & speed

When not helping out enthusiasts with their high performance, prestige, kit, replica and classic car insurance enquiries, the Principal gang wandered the site with tongues hanging out. Our Gareth took a shine to a Ferrari or two, including this 2004 360 Challenge Stradale, which in beautiful condition with just 7600 on the clock is on the market via 2b Consulting Automotive at £274,850. Prospective purchasers also got a chance to see what the curvaceous 3.586 litre V8 beauty could do as she was put through her paces on the track. Cholmondeley

Cholmondeley Festival of Power & Speed 2016

Gareth also captured the shots below (and this live track footage) of Ferrari’s rarely seen FXX, the V12 racer which is based on the Italian manufacturer’s Enzo but carries considerably more oomph, with displacement at 6262 compared to the road model’s 5998 cc. Just 30 FXXs were made which is perhaps hardly surprising given the limitations on taking out the1036 horsepower hypercar out for a spin. You won’t find one of these in the local ASDA car park. Festival of Power & Speed

We could go on, and indeed on and on, such was the breadth and depth of magnificent metal on display in Cheshire. But, as they say, a picture says a thousand words, so to help you capture a flavour of what was a truly tremendous weekend, we present below a few of the sights that were there to behold. If you were there, we hope they remind you of a very special event. And if you weren’t, well stick it in the diary for next year and we’ll see you there! Cholmondeley festival 2016