Race track and special stage are set to converge in the middle of London. Two of the star displays at Chelsea AutoLegends – London’s Greatest Show on Wheels – will feature some the most iconic touring car racers and World Rally Championship contenders from the last two or three decades.
Among the mouth-watering rally machinery promised are two fearsome Group B Lancias from the 1980s – an 037 and a Delta S4, both in iconic Martini colours. Also promised are the 2001 Ford Focus RS WRC of rally legend Carlos Sainz and a rally-winning 1993 Group N Escort Cosworth plus two all-conquering Audi quattros – an A2 from the early 1980s and a dramatic Group B Sport quattro S1 from 1986. Boasting around 600bhp, it is one of the most powerful rally cars of all time.
In all, some 13 genuine ex-works rally cars – as well as the Lancias, Fords and Audis there will be a Toyota Celica Turbo, MG Metro 6R4, Subaru WRC and an Opel Manta 400 – will be on display at Chelsea AutoLegends, held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea on Sunday 4 September.
The cars will be matched by the stars. Among the heroes of the stages expected at Chelsea AutoLegends are Russell Brookes and his regular co-driver Mike Broad as well as Yvonne Mehta, who co-drove for (and later married) the great Kenyan driver Shekar Mehta. After winning the tough East African Safari rally no fewer than five times, Shekar Mehta went on to be a leading light at the FIA, the sport’s governing body.
Track fans, meanwhile, will be able to turn back the clock to the 1970s. A display of Group 1 and 2 touring cars will highlight the era when manufacturers like Ford, BMW and Alfa Romeo developed potent competition versions of popular road cars in the hope that a win on Sunday would result in a sale on Monday.
Among the cars expected are examples of the BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’ and 2002, an Escort RS1600 and RS2600 ‘Cologne’ Capri from Ford, Alfa’s handsome GTAm as well as the brutally fast but far from nimble Chevrolet Camaro.
“The link between road and competition cars was stretched to extremes during the Group B rally era. Cars like the Lancia 037 and Audi quattro sport were essentially out-and-out racing machines with only a tenuous link to their road car equivalent,” said Eric Verdon-Roe, Chairman of Chelsea AutoLegends.
“And that meant they were difficult to drive yet fabulous to watch. Their drivers were real heroes.
“It is interesting to see the difference just ten years make. The touring cars of the 1970s were far closer to their road-going counterparts… though there’s no doubting cars like the Cologne Capri or the BMW Batmobile were serious competition machines. And the racing was always door handle to door handle.
“We are delighted to have some of the most important ‘tin-top’ race and rally cars on display at Chelsea AutoLegends.”
They will be joining some of the most historically important competition cars ever created, with more than 30 classic Le Mans racers on display alongside countless other noteworthy cars and bikes.
There will be cavalcades of supercars and motorcycles arriving at the show during the day, while other themed displays include special tributes to the Jaguar E-type and Mini Cooper – both 50 years old this year – and to some of the British ‘Patrons’, the private race team entrants of the Fifties and Sixties, who took on the factory teams… and often won.
In all, some 400 cars – including the ten most significant road cars of all time – and classic bikes will be on official display, guaranteeing interest for both enthusiasts and casual visitors.
As well as the rally stars, great names from the race track will be at the show, including event Patron Sir Stirling Moss OBE and two-wheel World Champion Phil Read.
Tickets for this year’s Chelsea AutoLegends are now on sale either via the event’s website (ChelseaAutoLegends.com) or from the ticket hotline on 0844 581 0760. Adult tickets are £20 on the gate or £17 if booked in advance at the website. Even bigger savings are available for those aged 12-16 when booking in advance: they pay £10 rather than £20 on the day. Underlining the event’s family entertainment values, accompanied children aged under 12 will be admitted free of charge.
Adding to the celebrations will be a special focus on the much-loved cars of the Swinging Sixties – a decade when Chelsea’s groovy Kings Road was the hub of global fashion, design and pop music. Chelsea AutoLegends also raises funds for Chelsea Pensioners, residents of the Royal Hospital.
