Lotus named lead marque for Goodwood

Lotus will take a place of pride as lead marque at June's Goodwood Festival of Speed, backed by an expected record attendance of more than 40 historic racing Lotus models.

“Lotus is an incredibly important British car marque, and we plan to have maybe the greatest concentration of a single marque that we've ever had at the festival,” said Lord March, whose Goodwood historic house provides the backdrop for the four-day event beginning on June 28.

Emerson Fittipaldi will be reunited with his championship-winning Lotus 72 and an early Lotus 7 race car, a type that many drivers--including British Le Mans legend Derek Bell--cut their teeth on in their formative years.

A Type 25 is expected, plus cars from the historic Lotus collection run by Clive Chapman, Colin's son.

A twin-chassis, carbon-tub 88, the first race car to use the aerospace material, is also expected to blast up the hill.

Goodwood will also assemble a unique collection of royal cars and vehicles with a personal link to Queen Elizabeth II, who is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee this year. Many of the 40 or so will come from the Royal Mews, the queen's private garages, including a 1948 Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Series I Land Rover modified to transport the royal corgi dogs.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy is said to have personally signed off on the release of a Citro

By Julian Rendell