Goodwood Festival Of Speed - A - Z

C

Cartier Style Et Luxe

So briefly mentioned in the B section was the Cartier Style Et Luxe, this lawn to the side of the main house by the stables is a display of only the finest vintage and classic motor vehicles which, over the course of the event are judged on several things such as the best design and styling, the most well maintained and most original condition of the vehicle. Alongside the admiring looks from visitors of all ages, each discussing the merits of which cars they favour there is an official judging panel made up of people from a broad spectrum of disciplines from architects to singers and academics all taking their own unique look at each car served up for their assessment with prizes then awarded to the winning vehicles at the end of the weekend.

This brings out the cream of the crop when it comes to stunning cars, some of which are incredibly rare, it then places them in prime position to be judged alongside cars that can be as far removed from each other in style as they are in age. Imagine a 1961 Jaguar E-type alongside a 1959 Morris minor then a 2006 Bristol Fighter, throw in some huge Americana chrome, some Spanish Luxury, a few French Amilcar’s, a Zonda, a DeLorean and a 1974 Lancia Stratos and you might start to picture what can be found in this part of the festival.

Cricket Green

Over the years the Cricket Green has taken on many different roles for me, a really nice space to sit and soak up the sun for a bit, usually a rest once I make it back from the top of the hill, I have sat here to eat, I have watched the Red-Arrows and I have seen various displays come and go.

However, the one that will live long in my memory is the spectacularly well thought out and executed tribute paid to Sir Stirling Moss in 2021. The man, affectionally known as ‘Mr Goodwood’ was honoured by the organisers and visitors alike. The iconic Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR with 722 emblazoned in beautiful red sat pristinely inside a large glass box surrounded by obelisks and the ability to access a book of condolences was a stunning display of something done simply yet perfectly.

Central Feature

Apart from the very special and unique one-off displays, there is always an annual display that takes pride of place in the centre of the gravel driveway of Goodwood house. Each year I try and avoid any spoilers for what the display looks like, it's one of those I don’t want the impact spoiled by seeing it ahead of time. I have seen a striking array of ideas bought to life, from the desktop / Newton’s cradle from Toyota in that first year to a huge Jaguar E-type standing on its nose, a steel rock formation being traversed by Land rovers, a multi-pronged Porsche spike that seemed to defy gravity.

A lot of the displays have old and new alongside each other, with Mercedes cars even appearing to race over the front of Goodwood House, Lotus F1 cars racing around a Mobius strip-like structure and if only as an effort not to list them all I must settle on my favourite which was the Gerry Judah designed (Check out his work it’s amazing and he has done quite a few of if not all of the displays I have mentioned and much much more) Aston Martin sculpture from 2019. Marking their 70th anniversary, a stunning and elegant design adorned with a championship-winning DBR1.

I have to also mention Littlehampton Welding who help create these pieces of work, stupidly talented people all around, however, I would say that as they are based not far from where I grew up and are just a few hundred yards away from where I used to swim in the river as a kid.

Car Park

Now I don’t think anyone at Goodwood Festival of Speed or Lord March will thank me for pointing this out. I will also suggest that you might get a few funny looks from fellow guests, you might even be approached by some concerned car owners if you do it too long but I can tell you this, there are some absolutely amazing cars just parked on the grass and hills being used as car parking around the event itself. Some guests drive some absolute beauties, I can’t tell you the number of times I have walked out of the festival happy with a day’s work just to stumble across another few gems as I walk back to my car to go home, so much so I almost factor in some extra time just to do some photos on the way out.

However quickly moving on from that the other tip for parking is to walk to the end of your row and take a photo of the lane / row marker and make sure you enter and leave through the same gate, it’s going to save you a lot of pain later. As mentioned earlier I am always one of the earliest there and am generally there quite late however I still can’t always find my car straight away. I would hate to try leaving earlier when the car parks are still full. So, there it is, that might actually be my first useful tip.

Concept Cars

A growing part of the festival is the concept cars and I can only see this getting bigger as Electric vehicles and Hypercar manufacturers bring their latest offerings straight to the fans and enthusiasts in one of the most unique settings imaginable, where you can interact directly with people who love your product and we, in turn, can get up close and look inside, round the back and even under the hood of your boldest and craziest ideas yet.

 Also causing quite a stir is when you hear stories like the Aston Martin team working on their Valkyrie into the evening and needing to take it out onto the local roads to make sure everything was running correctly. All rumours and speculation I must add, I don’t even want to know if it's true or not I just love the fact that it totally seems like something that could happen and I bet you can’t say that about most car shows.