800 Years of Anniversaries at FOS
Discussion
Goodwood Celebrates over 800 Years of Anniversaries
11/6/2007
Over 800 candles will be burning bright – metaphorically speaking – as Goodwood celebrates a number of significant motor sport and automotive anniversaries at the 2007 Festival of Speed, set to take place at Goodwood Park, West Sussex, from 22-24 June.
This year the Festival of Speed will not only honour the centenary of both Brooklands, the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, and the Isle of Man TT, the punishing motorcycle road race, but will also celebrate other landmark events, ranging from the launch of the legendary Bugatti Type 41 ‘Royale’ 80 years ago, to the more recent quarter centuries since the introduction of Group C endurance racing and World Super Bikes.
The key anniversaries being celebrated at the 2007 Festival of Speed are:
100th Anniversary of Brooklands: It is a hundred years since Britain opened the world’s first purpose-built motor-racing circuit at Brooklands in Surrey, and the selection of racing machinery on the hill will include a fabulous array of cars that achieved greatness on the famous banked circuit, from the earliest chain-driven racing beasts to the giants that battled for the glory of the Outer Circuit lap record in Brooklands’ later years, including the magnificent 24-litre Napier-Railton that is the perpetual lap record holder, along with the Sunbeam V12 350hp in which Kenelm Lee Guinness posted the final Land Speed record set at Brooklands in 1920. Also in action will be a fantastic array of important but lesser seen cars that competed in the popular Brooklands 200 mile race, as well as some important Brooklands motorcycles.
100th Anniversary of the Isle of Man TT: This great motorcycle road race is arguably one of the most epic and uncompromising of all two-wheeled challenges. It is also the longest running as it still takes place today on a course that has changed little since its inception. To mark its 100th anniversary, Goodwood will bring together a fabulous class to represent many of the winning machines and the most memorable entries. The 1907 Norton that won the inaugural race will be in action, alongside only British racers from Singer, Brough, Velocette and AJS. More recent events have been dominated by Japanese manufacturers such as Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha and a fabulous collection of important machines will be on the hill, along with great TT riders including Jim Redman, Stuart Graham and Charlie Williams.
80 years of the Bugatti Royale: It is now 80 years since the staggering Type 41 Royale was built by Ettore Bugatti exclusively for Royalty and heads of state. It was arguably the most ambitious project ever in automotive history, despite ultimately proving a commercial failure due to its no-expense-spared specification, extremely limited market and a price tag almost twice that of the most expensive Rolls-Royce. Each car used unique coachwork on a massive 4.7-metre chassis and was powered by a gigantic 300bhp, 12,763cc engine – which went on to drive Bugatti’s advanced aerodynamic railcar trains throughout the 1930s. Due it its size, opulence and rarity, each car became an immediate collectors’ piece, and one example remains the most expensive car ever to sell at auction, reaching $8.7million in 1987. Another is third on the all-time list, having sold for $6.5million in 1986. Five of the total of just six Royales built will be on display at Goodwood as part of the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ automotive design competition – the most ever gathered together in the UK.
75 Years and Toyota, and 50 Years of Toyota in Motor Sport: Conceived in 1932, Toyota went on to make its motor sport debut in 1957 when it entered a robust first-generation Toyopet Crown saloon in the tough Rally of Australia. Following various racing successes in Japan in the 1960s with the S800 and 2000GT sports cars, Toyota challenged for the Group 7 endurance racing class with the twin-cam V8 Toyota 7 sports-racing car, which first appeared at the Japanese Grand Prix in May 1968, and finished third overall the following year. During the 1970s Toyota successfully campaigned its Corolla Coupé in rallying, these early cars setting the scene for the successful rallying Corollas and Celicas of the 1980s and ‘90s. Back on the circuit, Toyota entered various motor racing disciplines, ranging from endurance racing in the 1990s with the stylish TS010 and GT-One and in the IMSA series with the fabulous Eagle-Toyota MkIII, through to CART racing and right up to its current F1 programme. To mark its numerous racing achievements, Toyota will field at the Festival a breathtaking collection of Toyota and Toyota-powered racing cars. Taking to the hill will be the Toyota 7 sports car and a mighty Supra from the 1997 Japanese GT Championship, along with the 1999 GT-One Le Mans car (which is also featured on this year’s official Festival poster). The TF106 Formula 1 car will smoke its tyres throughout the weekend on the hill, while in action on the Forest Rally Stage will be two iconic Celica GT-FOURs – the ST165 from 1990 and the ST185 from 1993 – which helped Toyota to four drivers’ titles and two manufacturers’ crowns from 1990-94.
25th Anniversary of Group C: The Group C championship was arguably the most popular sports car racing series of recent decades. During its twelve seasons it produced some of the most legendary on-track battles between the world’s greatest drivers and manufacturers and achieved new levels of speed, endurance and technology, which were previously thought impossible. Manufacturers soon realised the potential benefits of success in this category and marques such as Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota all achieved success. At the Festival will be the greatest collection of Group C racing cars ever assembled, comprising around 20 cars representing all the important models as well as the cars that took six Le Mans victories.
20 Years of the World Superbike Championship: This hugely popular championship was originally created to cater for motorcycles that closely resembled road-going production machines. Over the years it has produced some of the world’s most talented riders and has borne witness to some of the greatest racing on two wheels. To mark its 20th season, we hope to have contemporary manufacturer teams such as Ducati, Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki in attendance. Joining them will be five WSB champions: Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson, Troy Corser, James Toseland and Scott Russell, all riding the machines with which they are synonymous.
75 Years of ‘Monoposto’ racing cars: Alfa Romeo changed the face of motor racing 75 years ago when the Milanese marque commissioned its young, gifted engineer, Vittorio Jano, to design a new racing car for the 1932 season. Jano built on the success of his (two-seater) P2, and created the P3 Tipo B, the first centreline ‘monoposto’ single-seater Grand Prix car. The rest is history…
75 Years of the Ford Flat-Head V8 engine: The influential flat-head Ford V8, launched in 1932 with the new Model A, will be represented at the Festival of Speed by a class of iconic Ford V8-powered cars in the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ automotive design competition to help celebrate this legendary motor.
60 Years of Ferrari: To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the iconic Italian marque, there will be a special display in the Goodwood stable yard (close to the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’
featuring Ferrari’s latest road-going supercars alongside a selection of older Ferrari road cars. On the hillclimb will be a range of Ferrari sports-racing cars including the 375MM of the 1950s together with the famous Testa Rossa and 250 GTO, as well as the distinctive 365 GTB ‘Daytona’ and 512BB Le Mans car plus the mighty 712 CanAm car. Grand Prix cars include everything from the earliest Ferrari 125 to one of the recent ex-Schumacher cars, brought courtesy of the factory team, as well as the last front-engined 246 Dino, an ex-Lauda 312T, a beautiful tangled-exhaust 312/68 and the fantastic-sounding F1-2000 in which Michael Schumacher took Ferrari’s first world title for 21 seasons.
60 Years of Saab: Representing the innovative Swedish marque’s 60th anniversary since the introduction of its first passenger car at the Festival will be an example of the iconic 96 V4 on the Forest Rally Stage, plus Per Eklund’s record-breaking Pikes Peak 9-3 Viggen is expected to run up the Goodwood Hill, and the award-winning bio-ethanol Aero X concept car will be shown in the FoS-TECH technology pavilion.
50 Years of Scalextric: The popular Scalextric slot motor racing game celebrates its half-centenary this year, and to help mark this occasion, a Scalextric Museum will form part of the Junior Festival of Speed, filled with display of its slot racers, past and present.
40 Years of the Mazda Rotary Engine: Although Mazda was not the first manufacturer to put Felix Wankel’s revolutionary rotary engine into production – that honour falling to NSU – it was Mazda that took the three-moving part engine concept and perfected it into a reliable and clean power unit – something NSU’s engineers never quite mastered. Mazda’s first rotary-powered model was the Cosmo 110, a striking sports coupé that helped put the Japanese brand on the global map. A gleaming example of a Cosmo 110 will be displayed as part of the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ car design concours, whilst various versions of Mazda’s current rotary-engined sports coupe, the RX-8, will also be shown at the Festival of Speed. Elsewhere is Mazda’s revolutionary rotary-powered 787B Le Mans winner.
30 Years of DRM: The DRM grand touring legends were the forerunner to today’s popular DTM series, with wild road-inspired GT cars, such as Ford Capris and ‘Batmobile’ BMWs, bristling with huge slick tyres and bold aerodynamic aides.
11/6/2007
Over 800 candles will be burning bright – metaphorically speaking – as Goodwood celebrates a number of significant motor sport and automotive anniversaries at the 2007 Festival of Speed, set to take place at Goodwood Park, West Sussex, from 22-24 June.
This year the Festival of Speed will not only honour the centenary of both Brooklands, the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, and the Isle of Man TT, the punishing motorcycle road race, but will also celebrate other landmark events, ranging from the launch of the legendary Bugatti Type 41 ‘Royale’ 80 years ago, to the more recent quarter centuries since the introduction of Group C endurance racing and World Super Bikes.
The key anniversaries being celebrated at the 2007 Festival of Speed are:
100th Anniversary of Brooklands: It is a hundred years since Britain opened the world’s first purpose-built motor-racing circuit at Brooklands in Surrey, and the selection of racing machinery on the hill will include a fabulous array of cars that achieved greatness on the famous banked circuit, from the earliest chain-driven racing beasts to the giants that battled for the glory of the Outer Circuit lap record in Brooklands’ later years, including the magnificent 24-litre Napier-Railton that is the perpetual lap record holder, along with the Sunbeam V12 350hp in which Kenelm Lee Guinness posted the final Land Speed record set at Brooklands in 1920. Also in action will be a fantastic array of important but lesser seen cars that competed in the popular Brooklands 200 mile race, as well as some important Brooklands motorcycles.
100th Anniversary of the Isle of Man TT: This great motorcycle road race is arguably one of the most epic and uncompromising of all two-wheeled challenges. It is also the longest running as it still takes place today on a course that has changed little since its inception. To mark its 100th anniversary, Goodwood will bring together a fabulous class to represent many of the winning machines and the most memorable entries. The 1907 Norton that won the inaugural race will be in action, alongside only British racers from Singer, Brough, Velocette and AJS. More recent events have been dominated by Japanese manufacturers such as Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha and a fabulous collection of important machines will be on the hill, along with great TT riders including Jim Redman, Stuart Graham and Charlie Williams.
80 years of the Bugatti Royale: It is now 80 years since the staggering Type 41 Royale was built by Ettore Bugatti exclusively for Royalty and heads of state. It was arguably the most ambitious project ever in automotive history, despite ultimately proving a commercial failure due to its no-expense-spared specification, extremely limited market and a price tag almost twice that of the most expensive Rolls-Royce. Each car used unique coachwork on a massive 4.7-metre chassis and was powered by a gigantic 300bhp, 12,763cc engine – which went on to drive Bugatti’s advanced aerodynamic railcar trains throughout the 1930s. Due it its size, opulence and rarity, each car became an immediate collectors’ piece, and one example remains the most expensive car ever to sell at auction, reaching $8.7million in 1987. Another is third on the all-time list, having sold for $6.5million in 1986. Five of the total of just six Royales built will be on display at Goodwood as part of the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ automotive design competition – the most ever gathered together in the UK.
75 Years and Toyota, and 50 Years of Toyota in Motor Sport: Conceived in 1932, Toyota went on to make its motor sport debut in 1957 when it entered a robust first-generation Toyopet Crown saloon in the tough Rally of Australia. Following various racing successes in Japan in the 1960s with the S800 and 2000GT sports cars, Toyota challenged for the Group 7 endurance racing class with the twin-cam V8 Toyota 7 sports-racing car, which first appeared at the Japanese Grand Prix in May 1968, and finished third overall the following year. During the 1970s Toyota successfully campaigned its Corolla Coupé in rallying, these early cars setting the scene for the successful rallying Corollas and Celicas of the 1980s and ‘90s. Back on the circuit, Toyota entered various motor racing disciplines, ranging from endurance racing in the 1990s with the stylish TS010 and GT-One and in the IMSA series with the fabulous Eagle-Toyota MkIII, through to CART racing and right up to its current F1 programme. To mark its numerous racing achievements, Toyota will field at the Festival a breathtaking collection of Toyota and Toyota-powered racing cars. Taking to the hill will be the Toyota 7 sports car and a mighty Supra from the 1997 Japanese GT Championship, along with the 1999 GT-One Le Mans car (which is also featured on this year’s official Festival poster). The TF106 Formula 1 car will smoke its tyres throughout the weekend on the hill, while in action on the Forest Rally Stage will be two iconic Celica GT-FOURs – the ST165 from 1990 and the ST185 from 1993 – which helped Toyota to four drivers’ titles and two manufacturers’ crowns from 1990-94.
25th Anniversary of Group C: The Group C championship was arguably the most popular sports car racing series of recent decades. During its twelve seasons it produced some of the most legendary on-track battles between the world’s greatest drivers and manufacturers and achieved new levels of speed, endurance and technology, which were previously thought impossible. Manufacturers soon realised the potential benefits of success in this category and marques such as Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota all achieved success. At the Festival will be the greatest collection of Group C racing cars ever assembled, comprising around 20 cars representing all the important models as well as the cars that took six Le Mans victories.
20 Years of the World Superbike Championship: This hugely popular championship was originally created to cater for motorcycles that closely resembled road-going production machines. Over the years it has produced some of the world’s most talented riders and has borne witness to some of the greatest racing on two wheels. To mark its 20th season, we hope to have contemporary manufacturer teams such as Ducati, Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki in attendance. Joining them will be five WSB champions: Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson, Troy Corser, James Toseland and Scott Russell, all riding the machines with which they are synonymous.
75 Years of ‘Monoposto’ racing cars: Alfa Romeo changed the face of motor racing 75 years ago when the Milanese marque commissioned its young, gifted engineer, Vittorio Jano, to design a new racing car for the 1932 season. Jano built on the success of his (two-seater) P2, and created the P3 Tipo B, the first centreline ‘monoposto’ single-seater Grand Prix car. The rest is history…
75 Years of the Ford Flat-Head V8 engine: The influential flat-head Ford V8, launched in 1932 with the new Model A, will be represented at the Festival of Speed by a class of iconic Ford V8-powered cars in the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ automotive design competition to help celebrate this legendary motor.
60 Years of Ferrari: To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the iconic Italian marque, there will be a special display in the Goodwood stable yard (close to the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’
featuring Ferrari’s latest road-going supercars alongside a selection of older Ferrari road cars. On the hillclimb will be a range of Ferrari sports-racing cars including the 375MM of the 1950s together with the famous Testa Rossa and 250 GTO, as well as the distinctive 365 GTB ‘Daytona’ and 512BB Le Mans car plus the mighty 712 CanAm car. Grand Prix cars include everything from the earliest Ferrari 125 to one of the recent ex-Schumacher cars, brought courtesy of the factory team, as well as the last front-engined 246 Dino, an ex-Lauda 312T, a beautiful tangled-exhaust 312/68 and the fantastic-sounding F1-2000 in which Michael Schumacher took Ferrari’s first world title for 21 seasons. 60 Years of Saab: Representing the innovative Swedish marque’s 60th anniversary since the introduction of its first passenger car at the Festival will be an example of the iconic 96 V4 on the Forest Rally Stage, plus Per Eklund’s record-breaking Pikes Peak 9-3 Viggen is expected to run up the Goodwood Hill, and the award-winning bio-ethanol Aero X concept car will be shown in the FoS-TECH technology pavilion.
50 Years of Scalextric: The popular Scalextric slot motor racing game celebrates its half-centenary this year, and to help mark this occasion, a Scalextric Museum will form part of the Junior Festival of Speed, filled with display of its slot racers, past and present.
40 Years of the Mazda Rotary Engine: Although Mazda was not the first manufacturer to put Felix Wankel’s revolutionary rotary engine into production – that honour falling to NSU – it was Mazda that took the three-moving part engine concept and perfected it into a reliable and clean power unit – something NSU’s engineers never quite mastered. Mazda’s first rotary-powered model was the Cosmo 110, a striking sports coupé that helped put the Japanese brand on the global map. A gleaming example of a Cosmo 110 will be displayed as part of the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ car design concours, whilst various versions of Mazda’s current rotary-engined sports coupe, the RX-8, will also be shown at the Festival of Speed. Elsewhere is Mazda’s revolutionary rotary-powered 787B Le Mans winner.
30 Years of DRM: The DRM grand touring legends were the forerunner to today’s popular DTM series, with wild road-inspired GT cars, such as Ford Capris and ‘Batmobile’ BMWs, bristling with huge slick tyres and bold aerodynamic aides.
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