A look at the Grand Prix cars of the 20th Century might begin with this 1903 Mercedes. Camille Jenatzy, known as the Red Devil for his fearlessness, was due to drive a 90 hp Simplex in the 1903 Gordon Bennett race in Ireland but as that car was destroyed in an accident before the race, he borrowed this car instead, a 1903 60 hp Mercedes Simplex. He took victory having covered 327 miles at an average speed of 49.2 mph.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Not only have we been keeping Jonathan Sharp busy, he has been keeping us busy in turn. We had just completed his survey of drivers, then French and Italian cars at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed, when he began sending photo after photo of Grand Prix cars. (As can be seen below, each one of his photos is properly focused, properly framed, and with just the right light and angle. No machine gun digital junk shooting here.)
We began sorting them by year, and soon found that Goodwood had assembled, and Jonathan had photographed, a good selection of Grand Prix cars ranging from a 1903 Mercedes to a 2019 Mercedes Benz W10. And with plenty in between, it was a vision only possible at Goodwood.
The classes as ordained by the Goodwood staff had a lot to do with the astounding turnout. Sharp explains, “ ‘Maestros of Motor Sport, the great all-rounders’, which saw the cars of Andretti, Penske and Jacky Ickx drew a lot of Grand Prix cars. Then, separate classes celebrated 70 years of BRM Grand Prix history, the Tyrrell Racing Organization, Ayrton Senna, and 110 years of the Indy 500. This is in addition to the usual favorites of Grand Prix cars old and new.”