Three of Britain’s best-loved sports cars will be celebrated at this weekend’s Brands Hatch Lotus Festival.

The event will honour the famous marquee with Formula One demonstrations and racing on the track, plus displays, spectator competitions, rally demonstrations and a trade village.

Headlining the event will be classic F1 demonstrations, with the Lotus 21 that gave Team Lotus its maiden Grand Prix victory with Innes Ireland in 1961 joined by one of the squad’s final cars, the 1989 Lotus 101, complete with a screaming V8 engine.

The current Lotus F1 team’s past will also be recalled, with 1990 and 1993 cars from its incarnation as the world championship-winning Benetton team, and a replica of a Renault from the last decade.

All three will provide an epic soundtrack that many feel is now missing from the sport.

The event will also be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Lotus Esprit, forever associated with its starring role in James Bond movies.

It’s also a milestone year for the Elise sports car, which was first unveiled 20 years ago, and the Lotus Carlton, which is 25 years old.

Many examples of these cars will be parading the track with other Lotuses, and there are special displays at the festival, including every derivative of the Elise and Exige.

The Red Arrows will also be paying tribute with a fly past scheduled for 1:24pm on Sunday.

On-track action will also include a full programme of racing, headlined by the Lotus Cup Europe, Lotus Cup UK and Elise Trophy championships, featuring a variety of modern Lotus cars duelling at high speed on the Grand Prix circuit, scene of many past glories for the famous marquee.

Other races include the GT Cup championship, which will see many more supercars take to the track.

The action isn’t just limited to the tarmac, and Lotus’s world championship rally success will be recalled on the Lotusbits rally stage.

This will feature Lotus Sunbeams driven by Mike Taylor and Cathy Sewart, the 2013 and 2014 British Women Racing Drivers Club Vintage Racecar/Historica Rally Champion.

Sideways thrill rides can be purchased on the day for £15, which includes a donation to charity.

Lotus Motorsport will be present at the event, heading up a huge trade village with everything from memorabilia to brand new cars on sale from seven UK Lotus dealerships.

The venue will also be filled with up to a thousand Lotuses from car clubs and owners, including a show-and-shine competition.

Tickets for the Lotus Festival at Brands Hatch on 17 August are available for £18 with free entry for children aged under 13.

For more information, call 0843 453 9000 or visit brandshatch.co.uk