Goodwood Festival of Speed central feature to honour Mazda Challenger Spirit
In a year that sees the debut of three new models, Mazda is set to be the Central Feature Marque at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Central Feature is created by renowned sculptor Gerry Judah and Mazda, providing a spectacular backdrop to the world's most prestigious motoring festival.
The centerpiece is designed to celebrate the Japanese manufacturer's 95-year history, numerous international motor sport achievements and the cars of its current range.
Mazda is the only Japanese manufacturer to have won the world's most prestigious motor race the Le Mans 24 Hours and the victorious rotary-engined 787B is certain to be a crowd favourite as it winds its way up Goodwood's iconic 1.16-mile Hillclimb, along with many other examples of its sporting success and road-going innovation.
Founder of the Goodwood Festival of Speed Lord March said: "The theme for this year's Festival of Speed is 'Flat-Out and Fearless: Racing on the Edge,' and Mazda's continual push to reject engineering conventions and strive for something unique perfectly aligns with this philosophy. We are delighted to be celebrating Mazda's motor sport achievements and pioneering road-car technologies with the Central Feature, and to help it showcase its brand-new cars to an international community of car enthusiasts and the world's automotive media an audience that only Goodwood can attract."
Managing director at Mazda Motors UK Jeremy Thompson added: "Mazda has a long and proud heritage in racing, and through motor sport has demonstrated its engineering challenger spirit through the rotary engine, its Le Mans win and the LMP2 SKYACTIV diesel prototype currently racing in the United States. This spirit is also encompassed by both our historical and current road cars, being the only manufacturer to perfect the rotary engine, the only manufacturer to use the Millar Cycle engine, and the manufacturer who developed the world's smallest V6 engine.
"We were also the manufacturer who defied convention by bringing an affordable two seat sports car to market when all other manufacturers were deserting that market segment. Mazda also has more cars, and cars with Mazda engines, racing each weekend in the United States than any other manufacturer and it is all these landmarks and achievements that we will be celebrating at Goodwood this year."