Whats good at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 2013
The Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrates 20 years of automotive show splendour for 2013, and the first official show day was Thursday. We’ve taken a good look around the show already and here’s a round-up of what to look out for at the hugely popular motor show near the south coast.
Every year there’s a new sculpture in front of the main Goodwood house, and for 2013 it’s Porsche turn to show off their greatest work, and that’s 50 years of the wonderful 911. Up on struts so high in the sky is an early 911, a 1970s model and the very latest 991 model. The huge structure is held up by a concrete and steel base some 30 feet under the grass. I had vertigo just looking up at it! Around the show are dotted 911s of every vintage.
Many of the mainstream manufacturers see the Goodwood Festival of Speed as the place to show the car-loving show-goers what they’ve got coming, new model-wise, for the year ahead, and many new models are launched here.
Every new launch needs a big and exciting platform from which to grab the crowds’ attention, with many manufacturer show stands simply enormous. The Ford stand is four storeys tall and packed with many of their hot ST models, like the already-big-selling new Fiesta ST. The new Mondeo was also on show and looks bigger, more aggressive and more modern than ever.
Peugeot were not going to be outdone this year and had a large stand with, yes, a mini surf break on it! Show-goers could sign on and go surfing! It looked like so much fun on this very sunny day, but with my huge camera in tow there was no wave-riding for me. The new Peugeot RCZ R was on show to the public for the first time. Similar to the range-topping RCZ models on sale already of course, but with its special bigger wheels (19-inch), matt paintwork details and bigger rear spoiler, it really looked the fast-part. It has a 270bhp, turbocharged engine under the bonnet, too.
Mixed in with all the new launch models and current model ranges on these small-city-like manufacturer stands are great cars from their rich histories. Audi, never ones to shy away from their years of motorsport success, had one of their most famous cars on loan to the motorsport-inspired stand at Michelin. The original Audi quattro rally car. She’s 30 years old now, but the crowds still couldn’t get enough and I nearly had to resort to shooting through people’s legs to get a clean image of this wide ‘n‘ wild rally monster.
You’ll spend hours just looking around the hugely impressive manufacturer stands, and then it’s onto the Supercar Paddock that’s jammed with everything expensive, exclusive and out of this world – including the new Jaguar Project 7 that’s based on the already handsome new F-Type coupe, but now with its retro styling looks just fantastic – and behind that it’s a McLaren stand celebrating 50 years of racing and road cars with some of the finest and fastest car known to man.
And when you’re done with that little lot you’ve got a lawn full of classic wonders and a paddock full of racecars from every era. You had better take time to watch them go up the famous Goodwood hill too. You can’t miss the noise of screaming exhausts, that’s for sure!
In short, the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed is bigger and better than ever before, and that’s saying something! Bring your best walking shoes, a fully charged camera and your sun hat, and get set for a cracking, petrol-powered day out.
Posted by Craig Salter