Almost hundred years ago, this is what a Grand Prix car looked like! This Fiat S74 Grand Prix car, powered by a 14.2-liter 4-cylinder, almost won the 1911 U.S. Grand Prix but was thwarted by an oil leak.
Story and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Click on photos to enlarge
Every year, the Festival of Speed attracts huge crowds of spectators who come to Goodwood for diverse reasons. Some want to see the latest supercar machinery in action, some come to see the stars of the ‘drift’, some wait for hours hoping to get the autograph of Raikkonen, Rosberg or Valentino Rossi, and some want to step back in time and touch the cars they dreamed about in their youth and to show these to their children.
At the Festival of Speed, there is really something for everyone.
My last visit dated back to 2012 and the quality of cars in action and on display is still of the highest level. Perhaps the commercial side of the event is even more important today, the manufacturers competing between each other for the most spectacular display. Today it is at the Festival that the manufacturers have to reveal a new car, more so than at the London Motor Show!
Here is a small selection of the cars on show this year.
One of the 7 categories of the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ concours d’elegance was the ‘Art of Figoni et Falaschi’ in which all the cars presented came from the museum of Peter Mullin in Oxnard, CA, including this 1937 Delahaye 135 M cabriolet which spent most of its life in India.
This Delahaye Type 165 cabriolet was built to represent France at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Due to the outbreak of war, it stayed in New York for the duration of the conflict and was purchased by Mullin in 1985 who then started its restoration.
‘A car without a single bad angle’ says Peter Mullin about his 1937 Talbot-Lago T150 C-SS ‘Goutte d’eau’. Originally owned by Bentley boy Woolf Barnato, it was the overall winner of this year’s concours.
There was also a special class for ‘The Goddess of the Highway’, the inimitable Citroen DS which turns 60 this year and still appears revolutionary and advanced. Here a 1957 DS 19 Berline.
In the late 50’s, French coachbuilder Henri Chapron did some conversions based on the DS, without approval of Citroën obliging Chapron to purchase complete cars rather than chassis and engines. It was the case with this coupé Le Paris, with only 9 examples being built and 3 survive.
On the Ferrari side, a pair of 212 bodied by Vignale were on show with in front the first of six examples of the Inter ‘Geneva coupé’ of 1953, and in the background, a 1952 short wheelbase Export, once owned by British actor David Niven.
Beside the Concours, most of the activity takes place on the hill where David Franklin at the wheel of Arnold Meier’s 1969 312 P was one of the quickest men out there.
Driven on the hill by Annette Mason, wife of the famed Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, this Ferrari 512 BB LM finished 12th at Le Mans in 1979 for Ecurie Francorchamps, driven by Faure, O’Rourke and de Dryver.
Everyone recalls the famous battle between Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari 312T4 and René Arnoux’s Renault RS10 during the last laps of the 1979 French Grand Prix in Dijon. Their cars were reunited in the paddock. That day also saw the first win of a turbo engine in F1, opening a new era.
In the Derek Bell Celebration class was this Ferrari 512, driven in S specification in the 1970 Le Mans by Bell himself for the Belgian Garage Francorchamps stable. It was converted the following year to M spec as it is today.
Most of the current F1 teams are present at the Festival with more or less recent machinery and their current drivers. Scuderia Ferrari showed a pair of F10 from 2010, driven alternatively by Kimi Raikkonen and here Marc Gene.
The steering wheel of the Ferrari F10. How does one have time to look at the track with all those buttons!
The 1911 Fiat, the S76, driven in period by Pietro Bordino, was destined for Land Speed Records. Now restored and fully operational, Goodwood was its first dynamic appearance in more than a century.
The impressive 28.4-liter 4-cylinder of the Fiat S76, developing 300 hp.
Rally cars are also put to contribution. Here one of the ultimate expression of the Group B cars, the Lancia Delta S4 of 1985..
Marco Cajani attacking the hill with the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/TT/3, built in 1971, entered by Scuderia del Portello.
One of the rivals of the previous Alfa Romeo was this Matra-Simca MS650 of 1970, famous for the sound developed by its 3-litre V12.
Fifty years ago diesels were not efficient as they are now but this Peugeot 404 single seater broke more than 40 records at Montlhéry in June 1965, including 100mph for 72 hours with the production 1.9-liter engine.
2015 marks the 60th anniversary of Alpine and, to celebrate that and with the restart of the production in sight, this new concept, called Alpine Celebration, was shown for the first time outside France. The inspiration clearly comes from the A110.
And 60 years have passed since Stirling Moss won his first Grand Prix in a Mercedes-Benz W196 at the British Grand Prix at Aintree, beating teammate Fangio. Sir Stirling is still there, more passionate than ever, cheered by the crowd as ever.
A unique gathering of Mercedes-Benz 300 SLRs with ‘722’, winner of the ’55 Mille Miglia, ‘704’, Hans Herrmann’s car at the same race, one of the two ‘Uhlenhaut’ coupés and ‘658’, Fangio’s car that he brought to second place at the ’55 Mille Miglia.
Mercedes-Benz racers of the past, Moss and Herrmann reunited.
Mercedes-Benz racer of today, Nico Rosberg. But where was Lewis Hamilton?
Why show this 1975 Shadow F1 car here? Because it was powered by a French engine! But not for long, as the Matra V12 was replaced by a Cosworth after two races that the car did not finish.
Tecno built karts, F3 and F2 cars with success but their attempt in F1 remained brief and chaotic. For 1973, the team entered two different cars, the PA123B you see here …
… and the E731, both with Chris Amon at the wheel. A 6th place at the 1973 Belgium GP was the best result.
In the Supercar class, Ferrari’s latest hybrid XX program car with 1050 hp and a F1-developed Kinetic Energy Recovery System made its debut at Goodwood.
The SCG 003, latest creation ordered by James Glickenhaus, took part to the 24 hours of Nürburgring last May. After some cleaning and a quick conversion as a road car, it was shown at the Villa d’Este Concours and now here at Goodwood. The famous Ferrari P4/5, also ordered by Glickenhaus, was also present.
glickenhaus–my hero. to race at le mans, sebring, etc., all cars should be easily convertible to road legality. period.
With 100 + year old race cars, why do the drivers wear those ugly full face helmets ?