Seven Legends Climb the Hill at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed
The 2017 Festival of Speed made for a glorious long weekend of motorsport this past weekend, running from Thursday the 29th of June through to Sunday the 2nd of July.
As always, the event encouraged owners to get some magnificent historic machinery out to play. Sit back and enjoy seven classics ripping up the Goodwood hill climb.
The top two spots of the Festival of Speed Sunday Shootout were filled by legends of the ’90s. Justin Law was quickest on Sunday, pushing the Group C Jaguar XJR-12D up the hill climb in just 46.13 seconds. He just snuck ahead of the Penske-Chevrolet PC-22 IndyCar of Jeremy Smith, who clocked a 46.22.
Wind the clock back some seven decades and we arrive at this magic Bugatti 35B from 1927. The 35B represents the most developed of the Type 35s. Under its bonnet sits a supercharged 2.3-litre motor capable of putting out 138 horsepower.
Julian Majzub had the 90 year old race car hooked up beautifully, pushing it up the hill with the motor singing and those skinny tyres stretched well beyond their limit.
Another example of the magnificence of ’90s motorsport, this 1992 Audi S4 GTO is audible motorsport nirvana. Turn it up, and enjoy the whirs, pops and chirps of the turbocharged, 720 horsepower, straight five.
From the almost utilitarian aesthetics of the Audi S4 GTO, we come to the elegance of the ’60s and this utterly gorgeous Ferrari P3/4.
In its day, chassis 0846 ran in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio, 1000 Kilometers of Nürburgring, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona and more. Last weekend, it ran up the hill at Goodwood with Brian Redman behind the wheel.
The Mercedes W25 was designed for the 1934 Grand Prix season and would win the 1935 European Championship in the hands of Rudolf Caracciola.
The featherweight 750kg Silver Arrow is no slouch, even at the grand old age of 83. It’s able to put out over 300 horsepower thanks to its supercharged motor, which you can hear screaming up the hill in this clip.
Williams celebrated their 40th anniversary over the Festival of Speed weekend. To mark the occasion, they let the FW14B out to play for the first time since 1992.
The car was Nigel Mansell’s sled for the 1992 Formula 1 World Championship, and the pair got on famously. He won 9 races that year along with the drivers’ championship. With his Williams teammate Riccardo Patrese right behind him, amassing six second place finishes and winning the Japanese Grand Prix himself, the team comfortably secured the constructor’s championship.
Karun Chandhok was the lucky man charged with piloting the car over the weekend, and sends it up the hill in this clip.
Nick Mason’s Ferrari 250 GTO may not have the wings, slicks and technological whizbangery of the FW14B, but that doesn’t stop it being one of the most desirable competition cars known to the world.
One quick bonus clip for those of you who stayed to the end – Justin Law’s Shootout-winning run from 2013 featuring the 7-litre Jaguar XJR9.
He actually went faster in the Silk Cut car, blasting up the hill in just 45.95 seconds. It’s raw, fast and features a brutal 7-litre V12. Perfect.
