Honda to provide a massive stand and display at the second BBC Children in Need Car Fest (South)

Honda (UK) is revved-up to steal the show at Chris Evans’ CarFest South which will take place at Laverstoke Park Farm, Hampshire (28-30 August).

CarFest is the brainchild of popular Radio 2 presenter and new Top Gear host Evans, raising vital funds for BBC Children In Need via a family-orientated, high-octane blend of fast and exotic cars, celebrity cameos and live music from some of the hottest acts around.

Having played a leading role at last year’s events as well as at this year’s CarFest North, which took place at Oulton Park earlier this month, Honda (UK) will return to Laverstoke Park – the home of ex-Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter – with an array of crowd-pleasing activities and displays.

A full Honda stand will showcase the newest car range in the industry, including the Civic Type R, Civic Sport, Civic Tourer, HR-V, CR-V, Jazz and – straight from the brand’s award-winning Goodwood Festival of Speed stand – the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 in a box, the model driven by F1 World Champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Honda's two-wheeled offering has something for everyone, from the newly-launched, learner-legal CB125F, through the legendary VFR800F right up to the race-inspired CBR1000RR Fireblade.  

The new Forza 125 scooter, with its GT look and exceptional fuel economy will appeal to those wanting a striking but efficient means of transport.  

Visitors can also learn about Honda's innovative dual clutch transmission which, on bikes such as Honda's NC750X, combines the road presence and agility of a motorbike with the twist-and-go practicality of a scooter.

The ‘King of the Hell’ Xbox roadshow is also roaring into town, offering festival-goers the chance to win a brand new Civic Type R for a year provided they set the fastest time around the notorious Nürburgring Nordschleife in a state-of-the-art simulator.

Nicknamed ‘The Green Hell’ by F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart, the 12.9-mile Nordschleife is regarded as the most challenging and daunting circuit in the world, with each lap comprising no fewer than 154 corners, large bumps, cambers and surface changes.

The British-built Civic Type R – Honda’s ‘Race Car for the Road’ and the most extreme and high-performing model ever to wear the acclaimed ‘Red H’ badge – set a new front-wheel-drive lap record there last year, and in celebration of its arrival in UK dealerships, fans are invited to test their mettle by getting as close as possible to that impressive benchmark.

Honda Yuasa Racing Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship duo Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal – currently sitting third and sixth in the title standings, with Honda atop the manufacturers’ table – will perform high-speed demonstration runs behind the wheel of the road-going Civic Type R.

Honda’s latest Robot mower – Miimo – will be a working display in the Honda activity centre and will inspire a unique children’s drawing activity, whilst many of last summer’s favourites will make a welcome return, such as My First License, a mini-motorbike taster session that introduces 5-to-11-year-old non-riders to the exciting world of motorcycling.  

Carried out in a safe, controlled and fully supervised environment on restricted 50cc Honda CRF50 bikes, complete with helmets and kneepads, My First Licence culminates in the presentation of a special licence for the kids.

The ATV Experience on Honda’s TRX420 continues the fun yet educational theme, teaching older teens the inside line on throttle control, slaloming, overcoming obstacles and balance.

Meanwhile, the ride-on lawnmowers for 16-year-olds and above is sure to generate hilarious head-to-head racing around a timed garden course, where lane control and garbage-grabbing are orders of the day.

Last but by no means least the innovative and interactive ‘Power of Lean’ demonstration will simulate Superbike-style knee-down riding, replicating the feeling of being at full power whilst almost horizontal to the ground!

Philip Crossman, Managing Director at Honda UK, commented: “CarFest South is fantastic fun for all the family and jam-packed with exciting and interactive things to do for people of all ages.  

The music line up looks fantastic – as does the food offering, much of which is sourced from Laverstoke Park itself.   We aren’t quite sure of the weather yet, so will have both wellies and flipflops on standby!”

Ford to celebrate at Car Fest with a host of cars both old and new, including the new Mustang.

Ford will head to CarFest South this month with its Cosworth-powered Transit Supervan 3 to continue celebrations of its star commercial vehicle’s 50^th birthday.

Ford’s newest Transit – a 2015 Custom Sport Van painted gold to mark the half century – will join the convoy behind the 1994 Super Van, an enduring favourite from Ford’s heritage collection, capable of 150mph thanks to its 295 horsepower supercharged Ford Cosworth Pro Sports 3000 engine.

Another 50-year-old icon, the Ford Mustang, will lead out the vans.  Arriving in the UK with right-hand drive this year for the first time in the American muscle car’s history, a cabriolet Mustang with 317PS EcoBoost engine will head the Ford parade. 

Transit Owners Club members will also be at Hampshire’s Laverstoke Farm, the CarFest South venue from August 28 to 30, with a display of significant vans to mark the anniversary of the start of Transit production in August 1965.

As well as seeing vans new and old, families at motoring’s newest festival will spot Ford’s latest “MAX” family of stylish, practical and dynamic multi-purpose vehicles.

The new Ford C-MAX, S-MAX and Galaxy range, including three seven-seat models, goes on sale this summer.  Alongside the existing innovative Ford B-MAX, new C-MAX, S-MAX and Galaxy offer an unparalleled breadth of family multi-purpose vehicles – all with SYNC connectivity for hands-free calls, turbo-charged petrol and diesel engines – including All-Wheel Drive versions of new S-MAX and Galaxy.

Lisa Brankin, Ford Britain marketing director, said:  “Our new ‘MAX’ models and Galaxy are eye-catching family movers, showing off new design and technology features guaranteed to be a big hit with UK families.”

At CarFest North at Oulton Park earlier this month, almost £2,500 was raised by Ford’s precision driving team for the Children in Need charity.

More than 100 cars are lined up for auction at this years second CarFest show in aid of Children In Need.

More than 100 amazing cars will be going under the hammer in Classic Car Auctions’ (CCA) two-day sale at CarFest South, taking place at Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire, on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August.

From celebrity owned cars, iconic British classics, Italian supercars as well as classic campervans and pickup trucks, there really is something to tempt everyone. Visitors to the show could even pick up a classic car bargain, as 25 of the cars available are offered with no reserve.

Topping the bill at the sale is a beautiful 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series III V12 Manual Roadster, estimated at between £65,000 and £75,000. An original right-hand drive example, presented in British racing green with contrasting cream leather, the matching numbers car has been owned by the current vendor for some 10 years.

For those who hanker after something simpler then the ‘brand new’ 1983 Austin Metro Vanden Plas 500 could be just right. The car, offered without reserve, has covered just 741 miles and had just one registered owner since new, for many years forming part of the famous and historic Patrick Collection housed in Birmingham.

With the last Land Rover Defender rolling off the production line this year, CCA are offering a chance the chance to own the ‘ulitmate’ 110 County Station Wagon Defender. 

This unique and bespoke example, estimated at between £19,500 and £21,000, is one of the earliest built with rare features. Just a handful to this specification are believed to have left the Lode Lane factory and it is possible that this 110 was a pre-production or even a press car.

Offering the potential for a great investment is a 1997 Ferrari F355 Spider, estimated at between £45,000 and £55,000. Finished in striking Giallo Fly Yellow, the left-hand drive car was supplied new to Ferrari Lausanne in Switzerland, where it has spent most of its life. 

A far more controversial supercar is also going under the hammer in the form of a 1981 Delorean DMC12, estimated at between £29,000 and £31,000. Having been in the UK for the last few years it has recently benefitted from £15,000 of work lavished on it.

Celebrity owned cars include a 2000 Volkswagen Golf GTi once owned by Sir Elton John, a 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL formerly owned by CarFest organiser and new Top Gear presenter Chris Evans, and legendary Blues musician Seasick Steve’s old VW Campervan.

From the small screen comes a 1965 Morris Mini Moke that starred in cult TV series The Prisoner. One of four vehicles in the show, ‘HLT 709C’ is estimated at between £11,500 and £13,500. It was discovered in storage in a barn in Holland, where it had been for many years and is now back home in the UK.

Speaking ahead of the sale, Guy Lees-Milne, general manager, Classic Car Auctions, said: “It’s an honour to be asked by Chris Evans and the CarFest team to host a classic car auction at this fantastic event and we hope that our sale will help in raising important funds for such a worthy cause. 

There’s a great variety of cars on offer and I’m sure there’s something to tempt any petrol head out there.”

As well as all the great cars available there will also be a selection of special charity lots on offer with 100% of the proceeds going to Children in Need, most notably the amazing Martin Brundle and Sky Sports F1® designed Scalextric set.

Lots 601-654 will be offered on Saturday 29^th August and lots 701-752 offered on Sunday 30^th August.  

In order to view or purchase a car in person at the festival buyers will need a CarFest South ticket, with a limited number available by contacting CCA. For those not attending CarFest, bidding can be made by phone, online or by leaving a commission bid with CCA before the sale.

Classic Car Auctions to auction off the 2015 F1 Scalextric track designed by Martin Brundle.

Classic Car Auctions (CCA) is delighted to announce it will be auctioning Hornby Hobbies’ Ultimate 2015 Scalextric track at CarFest South on Sunday 30^th August.

Designed by Sky Sports F1® expert Martin Brundle, the biggest layout the slot car track experts have ever created will take centre stage on Hornby’s stand at the festival.

Scalextric’s magnificent track is made up of 177 pieces and is 45 metres long.  It features the best corners, chicanes, and sections from the 2015 F1® calendar that fans can watch live on Sky Sports F1® throughout the season, including:

• Italy and the Ascari Chicane
• Monaco and the Casino Square
• Canada and the Wall of Champions
• Silverstone and the Copse
• Abu Dhabi and the Marina Complex

Martin Brundle, Sky Sports F1® expert and former racing driver, commented: “The team challenged me to design my dream circuit using sections from the 19 F1® races in 2015, all of which will be live on Sky Sports F1®. I immediately wanted a figure of ‘8’ like our beloved Suzuka, and could only dream of driving a series of corners such as scaling the mountain up to turn one in Austin before falling through the ‘Senna S’ of Brazil and towards Silverstone’s fearsome Copse corner. And that’s just a small section. Now amazingly, we’ve built a model and so I will revert to my childhood for many laps. It’s going to get competitive.”

Hornby Hobbies Marketing Controller Jim Proctor-Blain said, “We are delighted to be supporting CarFest again this year and are excited so many people will be able to enjoy the Ultimate 2015 track.”

“Martin’s design has mass appeal so we hope to raise much needed funds for Children in Need.”

Kindly donated by Hornby and Sky, the Ultimate 2015 track will feature as part of CCA’s auction and is offered with no reserve, with 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the track going to Children in Need.

Guy Lees-Milne, general manager, Classic Car Auctions said, “We’d like to thank Hornby once again for allowing us to auction this amazing circuit in our sale at CarFest. We’re sure there will be plenty of interest and hope to generate a fantastic sum for charity.”

To see and race on the track visit Hornby on stand W25 at CarFest South from 12pm to 7pm on Friday 28^thAugust and 10am to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday the 29^th and 30^th August.

For more information on the track and the sale please visit www.classiccarauctions.co.uk.

Car Fest announces the bands and activities that will take place at this years twin events.

• Cars, music and much more at CarFest North and CarFest South
• Family fun for kids of all ages
• Top music line-up with Will Young, Seasick Steve, Texas, Primal Scream, Paloma Faith, Joss Stone and Take That
• Other attractions include the Megaland, Goalfest, the CarFest beach, stunts and air displays
• Just a few tickets left for Friday, 31 July at CarFest North
• CarFest South: all three days sold out
• CarFest North: Saturday and Sunday sold out
• Inspired and hosted by BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host Chris Evans, CarFest has raised £3.5m for BBC Children in Need to date 

Inspired by music loving petrolhead Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans himself, it should come as little surprise that his CarFest weekends are crammed with top line bands and plenty of on-track, tyre smoking, motoring action.

But the BBC Radio 2 broadcaster is also a family man… and he has ensured that the focus of both CarFest North (Oulton Park, Cheshire, 31 July-2 August) and CarFest South (Laverstoke Park Farm, Hampshire, 28-30 August) is fun for all the family. Indeed both venues will be bursting at the seams with awesome activities and eye-catching entertainment to amuse and inspire all ages.

For example, children can get behind the wheel at the Gocompare.com Kids’ Driving School, where they can drive go-karts, jeeps and kiddie quads. Footie, rugby, hockey and netball fans can hone their goal scoring skills in Goalfest supported by Mark Harrod ltd. or learn a host of new skills at Summer Camp… everything from magic tricks to basket weaving, and more.

Mum, Dad and the kids can head to the beach, with support from Wicks, tonnes of sand has been brought to both venues to create the perfect chill out area with deck chairs and extreme sandcastle building competitions. Don’t forget your sun cream.

Festival goers can turn back the clock at the Car Clubs & Vintage Village area and marvel at the daredevil antics of Stunt School; enjoy local talent performing acoustically on the Wigwam stage; and let the whole family take part in the Great Festival Dash supported by Garmin.  If their feet aren’t too sore after that, they can learn how to walk on hot coals under the watchful eye of experts from UK Firewalk.

There’s a Big Top, Showground, air displays and even a taste-off with Tom Kerridge and Paul Hollywood who want to know whether those at CarFest North prefer sausage rolls or Scotch eggs.

And, of course, there are the cars and the music. Among the top bands performing at both events are the Boomtown Rats, Seasick Steve, Scouting for Girls, Level 42, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Texas, Midge Ure and The Feeling.

Headlining at CarFest North will be Primal Scream (Friday 31 July), Joss Stone plus Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott of Beautiful South fame (Saturday, 1 August) and Will Young (Sunday, 2 August) while topping the bill at CarFest South will be Jools Holland (Friday, 28 August), Paloma Faith (Saturday, 29 August) and Take That (Sunday 30 August).

And the mouth-watering selection of cars due to perform on track include Formula 1 cars, touring cars, rally cars, super cars, landmark classics, dragsters and custom cars. At Oulton Park, strong man Simon Plant will attempt to pull no fewer than 14 Ford Fiestas around part of the track, while among the star cars will be the ‘Dirty Dozen’ – Ferraris, Astons, Mercs and Jags from Chris Evans’ own collection.

CarFest also offers the finest festival food to ensure that all fans, whether they are coming for just a day or staying for the whole weekend and camping on site, will feast on more than just cars.

Best of all, these epic family festivals are in a good cause. With a minimum of 25 per cent of all ticket revenues going directly to the charity, CarFest – now in its fourth year – has already donated more than £3.5 million to BBC Children in Need – a figure which will grow significantly when this year’s donations are included.

There are still a few day tickets left for Friday (31 July) at CarFest North, at £60 for an adult and £11 for those aged 6-16. But hurry because they are going fast.

Honda to pull out all the stops to support the CarFest 2015 events in Cheshire and Hampshire.

• Cars, stars and interactive treats galore from Honda at CarFest
• Racing fans challenged to prove they can be ‘King of the Hell’
• Activities for all ages, from five-year-olds to the young-at-heart

Honda (UK) is pulling out all the stops at Chris Evans’ two charity-focused CarFest events this summer, bringing along stars and cars, two-wheeled thrills and a range of crowd-pleasing entertainment and displays.

CarFest is the brainchild of popular Radio 2 presenter and new Top Gear host Evans, raising vital funds for BBC Children In Need via a family-oriented, high-octane blend of fast and exotic cars, celebrity cameos and live music from some of the hottest acts around.

Honda played a leading role last year and will return in 2015 to both CarFest North at Oulton Park in Cheshire (31 July – 2 August) and CarFest South at ex-Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter’s Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire (28-30 August).

A full Honda stand will showcase the company’s refreshed and exciting product range, including the Civic Type R, Civic Sport, Civic Tourer, HR-V, CR-V, Jazz and – straight from the brand’s award-winning Goodwood Festival of Speed stand – the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 in a box, as driven by F1 World Champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Highlighting Honda’s expertise on two wheels as well as four, ten motorcycles will be on display, whilst the ‘King of the Hell’ Xbox roadshow roars into town, offering festival-goers the chance to win a brand new Civic Type R for a year by setting the fastest time around the notorious Nürburgring Nordschleife in a state-of-the-art simulator.

Nicknamed ‘The Green Hell’ by F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart, the 12.9-mile Nordschleife is regarded as the most challenging and daunting circuit in the world, with each lap comprising no fewer than 154 corners, large bumps, cambers and surface changes.

The British-built Civic Type R – Honda’s ‘Race Car for the Road’ and the most extreme and high-performing model ever to wear the acclaimed ‘Red H’ badge – set a new front-wheel-drive lap record there last year, and in celebration of its arrival in UK dealerships, fans are invited to test their mettle by getting as close as possible to that impressive benchmark.

Honda Yuasa Racing Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship duo Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal – currently sitting first and third in the title standings, with Honda comfortably atop the manufacturers’ table – will perform high-speed demonstration runs behind the wheel of both the BTCC race car and road-going Civic Type R at CarFest North, before returning to the track in the Civic Type R at CarFest South.

Honda’s latest Robot mower – Miimo – will be a working display in the Honda activity centre and will inspire a unique children’s drawing activity, whilst many of last summer’s favourites make a welcome return.

My First Licence is a mini-motorbike taster session that introduces 5-to-11-year-old non-riders to the exciting world of motorcycling on restricted 50cc Honda CRF50 bikes in a safe, controlled and fully supervised environment, complete with helmets and kneepads and culminating in the presentation of their own special licence.

The ATV Experience on Honda’s TRX420 continues the fun yet educational theme, teaching older teens the inside line on throttle control, slaloming, overcoming obstacles and balance. The ride-on lawnmowers for 16-year-olds and above, meanwhile, generated hilarious head-to-head racing last year around a timed garden course, where lane control and garbage-grabbing were the orders of the day.

Last but by no means least, the innovative and interactive ‘Power of Lean’ experience will allow those brave enough to simulate Superbike-style knee-down riding, replicating the feeling of being at full power whilst almost horizontal to the ground!

Although most tickets have now sold out, there is still availability for Friday attendance at CarFest North.