The Silverstone Classic is an annual three-day car and race event at the

Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...

, home of the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

. The event features hundreds of historic race cars in circa 20 races over the weekend, displays from over 100 car clubs with more than 10,000 classic cars, free access to the paddocks and grandstands, interactive activities, dynamic demonstrations, live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, a shopping village and lots more. Founded in 1990, the Silverstone Classic was one of the first of motor sport meetings dedicated entirely to historic racing cars in 2019 it had a crowd of 109,000. The Classic will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2020 (31 July – 2 August). Originally held in late July, the 2022 edition was moved to the late August bank holiday.

Races

2019’s Classic programme consisted of 21 retro races and some of the winners were presented with their trophies by racing legends including

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...

Gordon Spice Gordon Spice (18 April 1940 – 10 September 2021) was a British racing driver who competed in both sports cars and Touring Car racing in the 1960s and 1970s, before starting Spice Engineering with fellow racing driver Ray Bellm in the 1980s. ...

, and

Paddy Hopkirk Patrick Barron Hopkirk (14 April 1933 – 21 July 2022) was a rally driver from Northern Ireland. Hopkirk was appointed MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours list. In early 2016, Hopkirk became the IAM RoadSmart Mature Drivers Ambassador. Early ...

. Both Silverstone’s paddock complexes are used during the weekend of the Classic to accommodate the large number of entrants, with racing taking place out of the National Paddock in the morning and the International Paddock in the afternoon.

Anniversaries

2022 (26 to 28 August) * 60th anniversary of the

Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in fi ...

* 60th anniversary of the

Morris 1100 Year 1100 ( MC) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1100th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 100th year of the 2nd millennium, the 100th and ...

* 60th anniversary of

James Bond films James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Nive ...

* 60th anniversary of the

Shelby Cobra The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the United ...

AC Cobra The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the United ...

* 60th anniversary of the

Lotus Elan Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars. The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel ...

* 50th anniversary of

BMW M BMW M GmbH, formerly known as BMW Motorsport GmbH, is a subsidiary of BMW, BMW AG that manufactures high-performance cars. BMW M ("M" for "motorsport") was initially created to facilitate BMW's racing program, which was very successful in the ...

* 40th anniversary of the

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...

2021 (30 July to 1 August) * 110th anniversary of

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

* 100th anniversary of the

Lancia Lambda The Lancia Lambda is an innovative automobile produced from 1922 through 1931. It was the first car to feature a load-bearing unitary body, (but without a stressed roof) and it also pioneered the use of an independent suspension (the front slidi ...

* 70th anniversary of the

Volkswagen Type 2 The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US), Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the Ge ...

* 60th anniversary of the

Jaguar E-Type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1974. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the m ...

* 50th anniversary of the

Triumph Stag The Triumph Stag is a 2+2 sports tourer which was sold between 1970 and 1978 by the Triumph Motor Company, styled by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. Design and styling Envisioned as a luxury sports car, the Stag was designed to compete ...

* 50th anniversary of the

Range Rover Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

* 50th anniversary of the

Datsun 240Z The Nissan S30 (sold in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z and in other markets as the Datsun 240Z, then later as the 260Z and 280Z) is the first generation of Z GT 3-door two-seat coupés, produced by Nissan Motors, Ltd. of Japan from 1969 until ...

* 40th anniversary of the

DMC DeLorean The DMC DeLorean is a rear-engine two-passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) for the American market from 1981 until 1983—ultimately the only car brought to market by the fledgling comp ...

* 25th anniversary of the

Lotus Elise The Lotus Elise is a two-seat, rear-wheel drive, mid-engined roadster conceived in early 1994 and released in September 1996 by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars. The Elise has a fibreglass body shell atop its bonded extruded aluminium chas ...

* 25th anniversary of the

Porsche Boxster The Porsche Boxster and Cayman are mid-engine two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche across four generations—as a two-door, two-seater roadster (Boxster) and a three-door, two-seater fastba ...

2019 (26 to 28 July) * 50th anniversary of

's first win at Silverstone in 1969 * 100th anniversary of

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

* 70th anniversary of

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and Car tuning, performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its FCA Italy, Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a ...

* 60th anniversary of the

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

* 50th anniversary of the

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

2018 (20 to 22 July) * 70th anniversary of the first

at Silverstone * 60th anniversary of Formula Junior * 60th anniversary of the

British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...

2017 (28 to 30 July) * Record-breaking display of McLarens to mark what would have been company founder, Bruce McLaren’s 80th birthday * 40th anniversary of Williams and the 25th anniversary of

Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...

’s Championship win with Williams * 25th anniversary of the

Jaguar XJ220 The Jaguar XJ220 is a two-seat sports car produced by British luxury car manufacturer Jaguar from 1992 until 1994, in collaboration with the specialist automotive and race engineering company Tom Walkinshaw Racing. The XJ220 recorded a top s ...

;2016 (29 to 31 July) *50 Years of Can-Am racing - special double-header race named the 'Can-Am 50 Insterie Celebration Trophy' was the main feature. *40th anniversary of

James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in . After retiring from racing in ...

's 1976 World Championship *50th anniversary of the

Lamborghini Miura The Lamborghini Miura is a sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1966 and 1973. The car was the first supercar with a rear mid-engined two-seat layout, although the concept was first seen in a production road car with Ren ...

*35th anniversary of the

Vauxhall Cavalier The Vauxhall Cavalier was a large family car that was sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations. The firs ...

Mk2 ;2015 (24 to 26 July) *25th anniversary of the Silverstone Classic *50 Years of Alpina ;2014 (25 to 27 July) *

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

official 50th anniversary gathering with special displays and track parade *

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

centenary celebration *World record parade of 84 grands prix cars led by

Sir Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

to mark the 50th F1 grand prix at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

;2013 (26 to 28 July) *Special parade of 911 x

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...

to celebrate the 50th birthday of the world's most successful sportscar *

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

centenary, celebrated with an extensive car display and a 100 car parade lap. *Displays and parades to mark 50 years of

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

;

2012 (20 to 22 July) *World record gathering of 60

Ferrari F40 The Ferrari F40 (''tipo'' F120) is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car engineered by Nicola Materazzi with styling by Pininfarina. It was built from 1987 until 1992, with the LM and GTE race car versions continuing production until 1994 ...

to celebrate the supercar's 25th birthday *

MG MGB The MGB is a two-door sports car manufactured and marketed from 1962 until 1980 by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), later the ''Austin-Morris'' division of British Leyland, as a four-cylinder, soft-top sports car. It was announced and its det ...

50th anniversary *Special 50th birthday parties for

and

models *Special races to mark 30 years of Group C sports prototypes and 25 years of the

Ford Sierra RS500 The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...

*The UK's first Z-Fest to mark the 60th anniversary of the BMW Car Club ;2011 *

50th anniversary gathering, achieving the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the Largest Parade of Jaguar cars with 767 cars on the track *21st Silverstone Classic event ;2010 *Celebration of the 50th anniversary of

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

;2009 *

50th anniversary with four special races including the Laurence Bloom Memorial Trophy

Other attractions

As well as the on-track racing, the Silverstone Classic festival includes live music sets from classic rock and pop bands from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Well known bands to have appeared in recent years include: UB40, Soul II Soul, The Stranglers, Reef, The Boomtown Rats, and the legendary Status Quo in 2015 for the Classic’s 25th anniversary. The line-up for the 30th anniversary celebrations in 2020 is yet to be announced In addition to numerous trade stands, club displays, live demonstrations, and family activities on the Village Green, car auctions are held at each Silverstone Classic. Since 2011, the auctions have been run by

Nick Whale Nicholas Whale (born 4 March 1963) is a British racing driver. He currently competes in historic rallying and FIA historic saloon racing events. He runs Silverstone Auctions, Classic Car Auctions, Automotive Auctions and Nick Whale Motorhomes. He ...

's Silverstone Auctions with over £6m of sales in recent years.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.silverstoneclassic.com/
Silverstone Circuit event page
Historic motorsport events Motorsport in the United Kingdom Sport in Buckinghamshire Sport in Northamptonshire