Festival of Far More Than Just Speed
The driveway and grounds of a country estate in the south of England probably isn’t the first place you’d think of when someone suggests going to one of the largest car events in the world but Goodwood has taken this position for years. Every year people travel from not only across the UK but also across the planet to attend the Festival of Speed, this year was no exception.
First stop this year was the rally stage right at the top of the hill, even with the mornings drizzle the stage was crazily dry and dusty covering every spectator and passer by with a film of chalk. The weird and wonderful including Peugeot pickups, Group A and Group B rally cars, even an Aston Martin GT4 car were lining up at time control. Thursday is practice day with the fast drivers heading out for some steady laps to make their pace notes ready to push for fastest stage time over the weekend.
Walking down the stage through the rally spectator area showed how much of a challenge the stage could be, and how unforgiving too. Lined with banks either side for the majority of the way round a slight mishap would end in major bodywork damage, being upside down or both.
Unsurprisingly the largest crowd was beside the jump, seeing a ton of metal flying through the air is something normally seen in films and TV. There’s definitely something to be said with committing to the air time, any driver who even hinted at lifting off (let alone braking) on the entry to the jump was greeted with a nose first hit into the ground.
Reaching the bottom of the wooded rally stage you are greeted with a view down the hill over the rest of the show with the hill climb running alongside you. The eclectic mixed batches of cars going up the hill made for some excitement. 1920’s aero engined leviathans following hypercars and ultimate hill climb cars really kept you guessing and engaged. The safari Lancia 037 was certainly a highlight to see in action.
One of the most hyped launches to take place at Festival of Speed was the first production M3 touring ever. There has been teasers and prototypes in the past (who can forget how unreal the E46 M3 Touring concept looked) but this is the first one to be publicly available. Attention to detail is exceptional both inside and out. On the exterior there’s lots of fins, dive planes and diffusers making the whole car look aggressive and ready for action all exacerbated by the stunning deep purple metallic paint. On the inside it’s pure lightweight and race car with the slimmed down bucket seats as seen on the saloon, just a shame about the non-jam sandwich friendly white leather trim. At over £90k it is difficult to justify the M3 touring, while it would be exceptionally fast, flamboyant and put a child like grin on your face everyday you’d feel bad throwing fence posts, tins of paint or labradors in the back of it.
Restomods still seem to be all the rage including the Kimera EVO37, Redux E30 M3 and even Prodrive now jumping on the band wagon with their P25. There is no doubt they will forever be insignificant compared to Singer who have once again smashed it out the park with their Turbo Study vehicle. Phenomenal attention to detail as always with Singer, including the stand too with the colour pallet of the car matching the decor. If you ever get the chance to look at a Singer 911 up close grab the opportunity with both hands, you will not be disappointed.
Potentially the most eye catching car on the Porsche stand was a canary yellow Cayman GT4RS. Gone are the days of the Cayman being a hair dressers car, this thing is savage. Carbon everywhere and a screaming 4.0 litre engine kicking out 500ps to a manual gearbox, you won’t be needing product in your hair to get it standing on end.
The Cartier Style et Luxe Lawn is always a personal highlight, this year was no exception with no fewer than six McLaren F1’s and an array of Ferrari’s hypercar history including 288GTO through F40, F50, Enzo (F60) and La Ferrari. It’s a privilege to be able to get up close and personal, looking at all the detail on some of the most rare and valuable cars on the planet.
The short body F1 GTR was a highlight, having seen it in photos and video games for years. Seeing the glint of gold in the engine bay through the cooling ducts and the central drivers seat with the exposed gear linkage sat waiting dropped hints that this car wasn’t going to sit sedate forever.
Strolling across the grass over to the savagery of 80’s and 90’s Ferrari Hypercars with a bright yellow F50 sitting next to the classic red F40 there was no forgetting what these two are capable of. It was impossible to overlook the starting point of the chaos with the 288 GTO effortlessly posing as it sat.
For more photos of the lawn and the whole show checkout the gallery below.
Images and words by Mitcham Media
