DATES: WEDNESDAY 23 JUNE TO MONDAY 27 JUNE 2022 INCL.
Yes, I know, the event itself was only from the Thursday to the Sunday, but I arrived early and left late……
For those who don’t know, the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) is an annual extravaganza of all things motoring, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, which is the home of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. He is a speed fanatic and over the years the FOS has got bigger, better and more important as years go by. Many manufacturers reveal new cars at FOS because it has gained a world-wide reputation of being the best “mobile” showcase available.
There is always a theme, which this year was celebrating the 50th anniversary of BMW’s M brand – so BMW’s everywhere …….Hard life, innit ?????
I think this post will be more a “few pix with comments” rather than a more conventional ( dare I say it !) description of what I got up to.
As per previous visits ( this was my THIRD) I booked the 4 day camping package, but this time selected the Campsite H, which had electric hook up and was the nearest campsite to the actual event – expensive but worth it !
Still recovering from my ankle issues (see post North Devon – June 2022), I decided that I would try and survive the 4 days by taking a prodigious and continuous amount of pain killers on regular intervals. Not the best thing to do, but ho hum, been looking forward to this event since buying the tickets in November 2021, so wasn’t going to let a mere ankle get in the way…… Suffice to say that I survived and walked over 80 km in the 4 days, so not too bad really.
Just to add a bit of extra “time spice”, FOS coincided with the a big annual outdoor railway equipment exhibition, namely RAIL LIVE 2022. So I had a grand morning on the Wednesday wandering around the rail exhibition (getting slightly sunburn and seeing old friends and colleagues) before dashing down to Goodwood in the afternoon. More pk’s……..
My previous modus operandi was to spend one day in the paddock (drooling over all the fantastic machinery, talking to the exhibitors, etc), a day going round the exhibition side of things + the supercars, concourse, etc, a day based on the rally stage at the top of the hillclimb, then the last day on the hillclimb, watching all the maniacs trying to beat the hill record, etc. Then there is always the daily display by the Red Arrows thrown in as well…….. No change this year, why fix it, etc, etc.
So here’s a few notes on some of the stuff that caught my eye – in no particular order……….there was lots more, this is but a sample.
PS: IF YOU ARE NOT “INTO” CARS, A WARNING THAT THERE ARE PAGES AND PAGES OF CARS IN THIS POST….. JUST SAYING…….
On the Jaguar stand they had an example of an e-Prix racer. There is a series throughout the world ( mostly on street race circuits) involving most of the big manufacturers, to promote the idea of electric racing cars. With a limited supply of energy, there’s lots of strategy involved to make sure the battery last to the end of the race. Seems to be a “home” for ex-F1 drivers, amongst others……..
Then there was this…… A funny three wheel electric car from Italy, called a Solo, made by ElectraMeccanica. Presumably being pushed as a town car; it has a top speed of 80mph.
Then I had a gawp at the rally cars in the Assembly Area, previewing what you could seen on the rally stage further up the hill. All the “normal favourites” (Mini’s, Escorts, etc) plus a Citroen DS !!!!!!! And a Skoda – of course……
Also lurking were two fire breathing BMW M4 drift cars. Two German guys (known as the RED BULL DRIFT BROTHERS) built two M4’s with 1000 hp and quadruple exhausts coming out where the back window should be, carbon fibre everything naturally. Sounded sweet on tickover. Will probably see them performing later.
There were several notable Porsche’s too, including this RS Spyder (circa 2005), still beautiful after all this time…… designed by Porsche in conjunction with Penske to compete in Le Mans Prototype Class 2 (LMP2) racing. The car takes its name from the legendary Porsche 550 Spyder of the 1950s, combined with Porsche’s common “RennSport” (lit.: racing sports) designation. Beautiful.
Just up the row a bit was this Porsche 936, circa late 1970’s.
On to one of my all time favourites, the 1971 McLaren- Chevrolet M8F with 8 litres of stonking V8 in the back….. A car that dominated the CanAM Series in N America. Just listen to that engine ! Had quite a chat with the owner who naturally said it cost a small fortune to run (? £10 k per meeting ??????), but apparently very “rewarding” to drive. I would think up the Goodwood hill it would be necessary for an underpant change after each run….
And here’s another Group C beastie, a Jaguar XJR-6 , circa 1985, 6.2 litres of noisy V12 – glorious !
Then I got amongst the F1 cars, starting with a Lotus Climax 25 ( 1.5 litre V8). This was the first F1 car to feature a fully-stresses monocoque structure, much lighter than more convention tubed chassis of the time. Another brilliant Colin Chapman innovation.
From the sublime to the ridiculous…… not really but Renault’s RS10 was the the successor to their first first turbocharged F1 car car, the RS01. Twin turbo V6, 1.5 litres, built in 1979. The power delivery was a bit on/off, all or nothing, so the drivers were very brave. Bit basic and crude compared with the ultra modern F1 cars, but much more exciting to watch. Rene Arnoux drove this beast up the hill
Another classic F1 car, in the form of a McLaren -Cosworth Mp4/1, circa 1981. A F1 pioneer/innovator designed by John Barnard, featuring the first use of carbon fibre monocoque chassis construction – I do like my engineering…….
Close by was an example of the Benneton – Ford B192, as driven by a Messrs Schumacher and Brundle in 1992. Still a good looking car IMHO.
In the PIT LANE feature (sponsored by Sky) there were the majority of the F1 “big boys”, showing off more contemporary machinery, including this McLaren MP4/27A, as driven by Sir Lewis in 2002, before he moved to Mercedes.
There were LOTS of Ferrari’s
Including this 136 “Sharknose” from 1961. I remember these being driven by Phil Hill and Lorenzo Bandini and watching them at the old Rheims circuit on the TV at home. 1.5 litre V6 engine.
A 639 F1 car, driven up the hill by a certain N Mansell. This car (never raced) developed into the Type 640, in which Nigel won a few races.
Not to be outdone, Mercedes brought an W10 ( I think !) for Mr Russell to propel up the hill
Then there was a current F1 car from Williams, a 2022 FW44 no less – or at least a show car version. What got me was how big it was ! There was also Nigel Mansell’s “RED 5” FW14B on the stand. It was TINY in comparison. I had quite a chat with one of the guys on the stand, who was also a fan of the earlier era cars. Red 5 looked like a go cart in comparison ! But regulations are regulations, I guess…….
Then there was this, a hydrogen powered sports car. Aimed squarely at the Le Mans 24 hour race, to run along side the other hybrid cars in 2024. Very interesting. Looks the business, I must say.
Tucked away at the end of the F1 Pits was this……… the star of the show IMHO. What it was doing here I have no idea, but what a machine. One day it will be beautiful again.
Now a complete contrast, this BEAUTIFUL Mercedes Benz 300 SLR, 1956. Similar to the one used by Stirling Moss/Denis Jenkinson to win the famous Mille Miglia road race in Italy. It has a 3 litre “ straight 8” engine, which sounded glorious when started up and warmed up. The crowds were more than 5 deep around the stand when that happened, as you can see…..GLORIOUS sound.
Now this was something special. The McMurtry Speirling. An all electric machine with fans supplying the downforce, just like Gordon MUrray’s BT46 F1 fan car- that was banned !!!!. Apparently it generates 2000 kg of downforce standing still… Capable of 200mph and 0-60 in under 2 seconds., ie ”blisteringly quick”. It certainly was and broke the hill outright record, previously held by a McLaren F1 car.
There were motor bikes as well – lots of them… Not really my cup of tea, but I had to leave something out, there was so much to see, as usual.
This sidecar outfit is from the Birchill Brothers, who have dominated the Isle Of Man TT sidecar races for the last decade or so. Some beautiful engineering involved, so please indulge me with a few pix…
Maria Costello (another TT stalwart) was also there with her sidecar outfit. She was giving various journalists, etc rides up the hill and probably scaring the bejazzus out of them…….
Aha, a Mr John McGinness no less. He is, I believe, the current Isle of Man TT lap record holder and the second most successful TT rider of all time with 23 wins and 44 podiums. Not bad for an “old man” of 50 years +……
Casually parked in the middle of nowhere was this class winning Porsche from the previous weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hour race, complete with flies and other assorted loads of s**t !
Talking of Porsche’s, here’s a 917K, 5 litre, flat 12 engine. This one is normally in the National Motor Museum. A classic design, that won at Le Mans, Daytona, Monza, etc. Also featured in Steve McQueen’s epic film of the Le Mans race.
Ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok seemed to be driving lots of cars this weekend. Here he is in a very nice Brabham-BMW BT52, as part of the BMW theme. 1.5 litre, four cylinder turbocharged motor, sounding gorgeous.
Then there was this -Ford Supervan 4. As it’s name implies, this is the fourth iteration of Ford’s mad idea/design exercise of taking a Transit van and sticking in a stonking big engine. This one is up to date, with 4 electric motors (allegedly producing 2000 hp in total !), carbon fibre everything, bespoke chassis, lots of racing technology. It was fast, acquitting itself very well in the Sunday Shoot out – however much power it has it’s still brick-shaped though…… Spectacular to watch though !
Off to the Supercars… FOS “is the only place where you can see such a remarkable selection of exotic machines in one place”. They sit there in the paddock but also run up the hill as well. Bit of a difficult one this, as there were SO MANY !!!!!! It goes without saying that all cost a zillion pounds each – minimum.
Near the top of my desirability list was the the Mercedes-AMG ONE, basically a slightly detuned Mercedes F1 engine with a carbon body thrown round it. Not the prettiest from the front IMHO, but still very purposeful no doubt.
Various sorts of Veyron’s naturally….
This Aston Martin Valkyrie looks more like an aircraft inside ! Apparently this version is £2.6 mil, but already sold out – 2 years production already taken up. Awesomeness on sterioids…….
A nice little runabout – Aston Martin V12 Vantage Speedster…
This Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR from Manthey included a E50k upgrade – on top of the basic price…
Not the prettiest of cars but this Zenvo TSR-S features a rear wing that tilts as it goes round corners – presumably to “optimise” downforce. Looked a bit strange when it was being driven up the hill !
Quite a few McLaren variants ( indeed 6 off) including the latest called the Artura – who makes up these names ???????
On the Bentley stand there was what I will call a “recreation” ( or continuation, if you like) of the old Le Mans winning Speed 6. Just 12 of these Speed Six continuations will be made by Mulliner, with all spoken for at a cost of £1.5million each. OOOF !
Another low flying aircraft/hybrid hypercar called a Czinger 21C, from America, with a claimed top speed of 253 mph – quite quick then….
Naturally enough Mr Koenigsegg ha d a couple of his beasts on show….. Looked almost tame in comparison to some of the more radical-looking stuff….
And then there was this. A Radford 62-2. A project between Jenson Button and Ant Anstead, it’s essentially an updated Lotus 62, but with lots of up to date stuff added. Looked good. Sorry about the pic, the sun was in the wrong place….
Of course there were Lambo’s, including this Aventador Ultimae.
Next was a Pagani Huayrs R. Didn’y bother to paint it – that’s extra weight.
Where would supercars be without Ferrari ?
There were tons of others as well, too much really….. I think most people there were salivating wildly to see such a collection all in one place.
Another section is the Cartier Style + Luxe Concourse d’elegance. This features all sorts of machines judged by an expert panel to be the “most elegant”. This year’s selection was featuring Austin 7’s ( yes really !). Ferrari’s and Gordon Murray’s McLaren F1 machines.
Having owned a couple of Austin 7’s in my early motoring days, these were my favourites
In the PRE-WAR POWER paddock there was this monster. Not really my thing these older racers, but you couldn’t fail to be impressed by something like this 23.9 litre W12 configured beastie. The drivers must’ve been very brave in those days……..It sounded magnificent when it was being warmed up.
Looking at these C type and D type Jaaaaaaaaaaaaag’s ( as a certain Mr Clarkson would say), it easy to see where the road-going E type got it’s DNA…….
In one of the “tin top “ sections, I had a bit of a chat with the driver ( and his Dad….) about the TCR series, being run all over the place. TCR UK is very much a production car based championship. I did not appreciate that the cars are very much based on standard “metal” base machines, whereas the BTCC ( British Touring Car Championship) cars are very highly modified in comparison – you live and learn……..
Quite a few famous Subaru’s around…. including Prodrive’s re-imagining it for 2022, called a P25. A cool £@50 a pop !!!!
Look at the size of that turbo – on one of the drift cars. Lag must be horrendous !
It wasn’t all cars. There was a woodwind based orchestra playing near the main house. Very pleasant.
I spent quite a while up at the rally stage, a separate course to the main hill, winding it’s way through the trees, to simulate a rally stage. All the cars are bases at the top field, so drafty ie a proper rally paddock !
A good selection of machinery, including a Ford Escort Mk 1 Twin Cam, a Ford Escort Mk 2 1800, a Ford Escort Mk 1 Mexico, a Ford Escort Mk 2 RS1800 – for a start ! Ford Escort variants dominated the UK stage rally scene for many years.
Naturally there was a Mini, the sort that Paddy Hopkirk used to drive and win the Monte Carlo Rally, amongst others.
A bit more “exotic” is this 1972 Alpine A110 Berlinette. Still looking good after all these years. The A110 has recently been resurrected by Renault/Alpine, but this is the real thing, IMHO….
Another quirky machine from France a 1976 Citroen DS23 IE, still being regulkarly used in rallies and regularity events by its Dutch driver/owner. What happens if it springs a leak ??????
A few more well known faces…..including 6R4’s, various Subaru’s, Lancia’s, Mitubishi EVO’s, Hyundai’s, etc, etc. Even an Aston Martin !!!! Too many to photograph.
Another Feature is the FIRST GLANCE section, featuring newly release/most anticipated cars and concepts. Amongst them was this Mercedes concept saloon. It had just broken the record for doing the most miles on one charge, 700+. Very sleek…….
At the other end of the insanity scale was this V8 Mini. Somehow they’d manage to squeeze a BMW 4 litre set of kit into a very small space. – maintenance must be a right b*****r ! Intriguing…….
What have I missed out ? Oh yes, a feature called ELECTRIC AVENUE, which, as you would guess, featured all cars electric, including city cars, saloons, SUV’s and hypercars. No pix, sorry, but a very interesting look at what we’ll soon be driving, I guess.
Half way up the main hill was another arena featuring extreme off-road type vehicles, including desert-style machines, including specialist buggies and converted Land Rovers, etc.
One that caught my eye was this monster, called an ORA Eurofighter IFS 2.0. Incredible machine with everything BIG or duplicated. Incredible engineering. Sounded fantastic and went like a scalded cat…….e
Another major attraction was Nigel Mansell. He was driving all sorts of machinery including Ferrari’s 639 and Williams FW14B RED 5. He also drove a Lotus F1 car , which he described as “ the best car I’ve ever driven”…..Here’s a few pix of his activity throughout the day. All “stolen”, not taken by me………
As I said before, not all cars – just look at that fudge…… no, I didn’t buy any !
And finally…… Just to show some drivers are more human than others. While waiting in the queue at the hillclimb start line (after a delay due to an incident), a certain Mr J Button jumped over the straw bale barriers to give a young fan his autograph – made the young lad’s visit, I guess…. Mr B probably got into trouble from the officials, but hey…..
It’s impossible to do the whole extravaganza, even in 4 days. However, the only thing I’d like to do in conclusion is to encourage you to go and enjoy ! It’s GREAT !!!!!!