Lotus to appear at Classic Motor Show.

The 2004 Classic Motor Show will see a rare outing for Classic Team Lotus, with a number of legendary racing cars driven by Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi and Nigel Mansell on display at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham from 22 - 24 October.

Classic Team Lotus will be showing the 99T/4, which competed in the 1987 Formula One World Championship, driven by the great Ayrton Senna.

The 2004 Classic Motor Show will see a rare outing for Classic Team Lotus, with a number of legendary racing cars driven by Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi and Nigel Mansell on display at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham from 22 - 24 October.

Classic Team Lotus will be showing the 99T/4, which competed in the 1987 Formula One World Championship, driven by the great Ayrton Senna.

The car completed 6,129 miles during the 1987 season driven exclusively by Senna and demonstrated typical Lotus innovation featuring true active suspension and computer controlled hydraulics.

Another race car on display will be the type 86 experimental car designed to evaluate the twin chassis concept. This car was tested by Nigel Mansell at both Hethel and Snetterton.

The type 72, driven to victory in the 1972 World Championship by the youngest ever championship winner Emerson Fittipaldi, will also be on the Classic Team Lotus stand. The type 72 competed for six seasons winning 20 grand prix races and due to the longevity of its competitiveness is amongst the greatest F1 car design of all time.

Classic Team Lotus will also have a unique type 32B, as driven by the great Jim Clarke on display alongside a type 49 that carried both Graham Hill and Mario Andretti to victory in 1968.

The type 56B, which is powered by a jet engine, will also be making an appearance. The only gas turbine powered car in the history of F1, this is the last surviving example of this particular variant and represented a rare experiment in four-wheel drive.

Raced by Emerson Fittipaldi in the 1971 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, the F1 56B derived from the 56 Indy car. The turbine produced around 500 brake horsepower versus the 450 of its three-litre Cosworth engined rivals. It was most recognisable for its dramatic wedge shape and the lack of big wings, and was considerably quieter than most of its noisy counterparts.

Andy Rouse, organiser for the Classic Motor Show, believes it is a major coup for the event to have the Lotus team appearing.

"It's a bit of a coup for us to have Classic Team Lotus in attendance," he said. "We will have some of the finest examples of British racing heritage on display. Lotus led the way in innovative F1 racecar design for years and the examples we will have at the show are amongst the best in the world. In addition to the cars we will have a number of Lotus pit crew at the show that were present at many of the land mark occasions throughout Lotus' racing years, as well as Clive Chapman, son of Lotus founder Colin Chapman."

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