More than 80,000 spectators are expected – up from 65,000 last year – and the event at the famous Silverstone race circuit in Northamptonshire is designed to appeal to all ages.
Last year, the event included live concerts on the Friday and Saturday nights, with Toploader, Blue, the Pussycat Dolls and Carlos Santana headlining the bill.
This year, say the organisers, the event will be even bigger and better. Celebrities attending are yet to be announced, but previous visitors include Murray Walker, Sir Stirling Moss, Richard Attwood, Chris Rea and Mark Knopfler.
And, given that the Yardbirds are playing on Friday night, maybe you'll spot Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton in the crowd…
What's on?
More than 100 classic car clubs displaying more than 5,000 cars will be there. There will be plenty of opportunity to see some stunning cars in action because a total of 700 rare classic racers – worth more than £100 million – will either be driven around by their owners or compete in races.
The organisers promise to showcase high-quality races representing each decade from the Thirties through to the Nineties. They will cover GP, Le Mans, sports and touring cars.
If some family members aren't petrolheads, don't worry – there will also be breathtaking aerial displays, hot-air balloon ascents, a Victorian fun fair alongside more up-to-date extreme rides, and a retail village with more than 100 traders. Harley-Davidson will have displays and stunt demonstrations for two-wheeled fans.
At perhaps a slightly slower pace, Bonhams will be presiding over an auction of cars and memorabilia. Last year all lots sold, with a total hammer price of £750,000.
As well as the Yardbirds, the musical line-up so far includes Dr Feelgood and Rick Parfitt jnr, but watch this space for confirmation of more big names.
Shoot to thrill
An eight-heat "Streetcar Shootout" is aimed at thrilling the crowds on both the Saturday and the Sunday, with a selection of cars, two at a time, side by side, racing along a standard quarter-mile track.
All modified cars are apparently road legal, with some capable of 0-100mph in an astonishingly speedy two seconds. Smoke and noise are guaranteed.
Celebrity race
New attractions for 2010 include a celebrity race on the Friday evening, with drivers unfamiliar with the world of motor racing parading their freshly discovered skills on the historic GP circuit.
The celebrities will be given special training to obtain their race licences and then go into battle on the historic circuit in identical, race-prepared Fiat 500 Abarths.
"What we're aiming for is to provide a wide range of exciting entertainment that will broaden the appeal of the event from its historical context of motor racing, to a not-to-be-missed event that appeals to all ages, with plenty of fun for the entire family," said Paul King, the event producer. "It is going to be bigger, and better, than ever before."
The quality and quantity of grids will take historic racing up a gear and the organisers hope the Silverstone Classic will become the biggest classic motoring festival in the world.
Formula One celebration
Key to the event will be a celebration of 60 years of the Formula One World Championship, with a selection of three high-quality grids on the historic GP circuit and displays spanning the entire 60 years.
Invited grids will showcase the development of the sport with a Historic Grand Prix Cars Association (HGPCA) pre-1961 front-engine GP race featuring early ERAs, Alfa Romeos, Maserati 250Fs and an Aston Martin DBR4 once driven by F1 legend Roy Salvadori.
There will also be an HGPCA pre-1966 rear-engine GP race with Lotuses, BRMs and a Cooper T51 that Jack Brabham drove to victory in 1959 at Silverstone.
A "Grand Prix Masters" pre-1974 race will feature Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, March, Hesketh, Ferrari, BRM and McLaren entrants – fans of the Stewart/Hunt/Fittipaldi era are promised a "visual and aural feast".
Special displays and parades will showcase later cars, including Ayrton Senna's first F1 racer, the turbocharged Toleman Hart, Michael Schumacher's 1992 Benetton and the 1996 World Championship-winning Williams-Renault as raced by Damon Hill.
Muscle cars
The Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC) Big Engine Touring Cars will make the ground shake as more than 40 V8 monsters from the Sixties roar around the historic Grand Prix circuit.
Watch muscle cars from Ford, Dodge and Chrysler battle with European cars such as Jaguars and Mercedes. With engine capacities ranging from 3.4 litres to more than five litres, a collective 12,000 horsepower will be unleashed when the lights go green.
Motorsport feast
The Under Two Litre Touring Car race (U2TC) aims to recreate, faithfully, the roots of International Touring Car racing between 1963 and 1965, and is only for cars adhering strictly to period specification. Expect Alfa Romeos, BMW 1800s, Chevy Impalas, Ford Anglias, even Minis.
The Pre-1963 GT event is open only to GT cars built and homologated before January 1 1963, from short-wheelbase Ferraris to Aston Martin Zagatos, models built to be driven on the road and raced on the track.
Observance of period homologation rules will be strict, with the grid welcoming pre-1963 models which were competitive in their time but whose performance may not be suitable for more "modern" historic racing.
The Formula Junior race will pitch Lotus 27s against giants such as the Brabham BT6 and the Mk3A Gemini, while the Motor Racing Legends RAC Woodcote Trophy will be for genuine sports-racers of the post-war era, up to and including December 1955.
The World Sportscar Masters (WSM) pre-1974 Sports Cars will deliver a large grid of Sixties and Seventies Le Mans cars including Lolas, Porsches, Ferraris and Alfa Romeos.
The Masters Gentleman Driver race for pre-1966 GT cars will feature Cobras, Aston Martin DB4s, Ferraris and Bizzarinis, with smaller-engined categories including Austin Healeys, MGs and Lotuses.
The HSCC Historic Road Sports race aims to recapture the true spirit of historic racing with classic marques campaigned in almost showroom condition. Famous marques taking part will include Alfa Romeo, Ginetta, Jaguar, Lancia, Lotus, MG, Morgan, Porsche, Triumph and TVR.
Fans of Italian machinery will love the Italian Historic Car Cup for pre-1974 Italian sports and GT cars. Cars already lined up include a mouthwatering assortment of Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and Maseratis, some worth in excess of £10 million.
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