Goodwood is delighted to announce that this year’s Goodwood Revival will celebrate Lotus’ 75th anniversary. Welcoming a fleet of up to 75 cars from Lotus’ 75 years of history and heritage, the Revival will celebrate this major milestone with a special on-track celebration paying homage to “The Chapman years” (1948-1982).
Running across the Revival weekend, the festivities will feature a variety of spectacular vehicles spanning Lotus’ history, with a host of notable drivers behind the wheel. Taking centre stage will be the Lotus 18 which secured the first win for a Lotus-built car at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix with “Mr Goodwood” himself, Sir Stirling Moss, behind the wheel.
As we celebrate ‘Goodwood 75’ – encompassing 75 years of the Motor Circuit, and 25 years of the Revival – it is particularly fitting that the Revival will celebrate a marque that is so integrally linked with Goodwood and one that not only boasts such a rich motorsport heritage, but is equally committed to looking forward to the next 75 years.
Goodwood and Lotus’ shared history stretches back to when the Motor Circuit was first in operation. The Lotus 25 still holds the period lap record which was set on Easter Monday in 1965 during the last ever Formula 1 race to be held at Goodwood, when Jim Clark tied for fastest lap with Jackie Stewart in a time of 1m 20.4. More recently, Lotus has been celebrated at the Festival of Speed in both 2012 and 2021 with the Central Feature and the marque chose the Festival of Speed as the platform for the public dynamic debut of the Lotus Emira in 2021.
The Chapman family has made numerous appearances at Goodwood over the years, and is as inextricably linked with the Circuit as the marque itself. Both Colin and Hazel Chapman raced at Goodwood and Colin’s father Stan managed the team, including for the significant victory by Innes Ireland in the 1960 Glover Trophy race. We are delighted that this long tradition will continue, with Clive Chapman, son of Lotus founder Colin Chapman, due to attend the Revival in September.
Speaking ahead of the celebration, Clive Chapman from Classic Team Lotus said: “Goodwood represents many landmarks in the story of Lotus. We had many famous victories – often with my father behind the wheel – when the Circuit was first in operation and, since the Revival and Members’ Meetings were established, Lotus has played a significant role in these glorious events. A personal highlight for me has been seeing Hazel and Colin’s grandchildren witness their grandparents’ famous cars continue to win prestigious races at Goodwood all these years later. As Lotus Cars experiences an extraordinary period of growth and develops into a global brand for the future, it is the perfect time to celebrate our history in such splendid style. Thank you to all the Lotus owners and mechanics supporting the Lotus Celebration at the Revival.”
The Duke of Richmond said: “I am delighted that we will be celebrating Lotus at the Revival later this year. With such a closely-linked history, 2023 is the perfect occasion to mark both our 75-year anniversaries. The Revival will showcase an incredible array of cars which illustrate the ingenuity of Colin Chapman and the remarkable contribution of the Chapman family to motorsport, both at Goodwood and further afield.”
Taking place across the weekend, the Lotus celebration will join the previously-announced Carroll Shelby tribute as well as the full race schedule for the Goodwood Revival, Friday 8 – Sunday 10 September.
