The calibre of cars brought by visitors to the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard is so high that for many years now we’ve allowed forward parking in what’s termed Performance Parking. It’s a win-win: drivers of accredited cars don’t have as far to walk and Festival of Speed visitors are treated to a display of top-flight machinery. It’s a great reminder that so many members of the audience live and breathe the love of cars.
Some marques are represented in large numbers. Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche are all familiar fare in Performance Parking. Among the Stuttgart machinery, it was a 911 GT3 RS that stood out among Saturday’s gathering – not least because of the towering rear wing that was visible over the roofs of lower-slung, usually Italian supercars.
Talking of Italians, there were a couple of Lamborghinis that took personalisation seriously. An orange Huracán with a colour-coded roof box looked rather subtle compared to the Aventador with a lurid multi-colour wrap. As if Lamborghinis aren’t lurid enough in factory form...
Keeping up the low-volume British end were a TVR Tuscan and Ultima GTR, while Lotus was represented in large numbers. From a classic Elan Plus 2 via Evoras and Emiras up to Eletre and Emeya EVs, there was no shortage of yellow and green badges to be found in Performance Parking.
As the weekend progressed, the ever revolving array of machinery provided plenty of variety. How about a high-riding and bodykitted Mercedes G-Class, or an Audi RS6 estate finished in yellow. There can't be many of buyers who were brave enough to specify that.
Photography by Nick Wilkinson and Finlay Williams.
Festival of Speed
FOS 2024
Event Coverage
Performance Parking
Festival of Speed
Festival of Speed
Festival of Speed