Goodwood Revival 2013: Days of thunder

Some say the Goodwood Revival resembles a living film-set with tens of thousands of participating extras. But although the countless actors and spectators – most in character, donning their best vintage outfits – add to the unique Revival atmosphere, the cars are the real stars of the show…

The lure of Goodwood is always enough to entice some of the world’s rarest and most tantalising vehicles, and 2013’s event was certainly no different.

To celebrate 50 years since Jim Clark’s first Formula One drivers’ title, a collection of the legendary Scot’s racing cars was cavalcaded around the track, driven by some of Clark’s contemporaries, friends and younger admirers.  The delights included his 1963 F1 title-winning Lotus 25, several of his much-loved Lotus Cortinas (including the car in which he won the 1964 British Saloon Car Championship) and the Lotus 38 – the actual car with which Clark won the 1965 Indy 500. Rather fittingly, fellow Indy-winning Scot Dario Franchitti was given the chance to drive the distinctive car. Needless to say, there were ear-to-ear smiles all round. 

A world-class line-up of grids

Elsewhere in the world-class line-up of grids, several cars stood out for us. A beautiful Cisitalia 202 SMM (thought to be the first at a Revival meeting) contested the fiercely competitive Madgwick Cup among other sub-2-litre sportscars, albeit at a more leisurely pace. In the Glover Trophy for early Sixties 1.5-litre F1 cars, the screaming V12 of the unique Ferrari 1512 was music to our ears (and several thousand others). Then driven by John Surtees – now driven by US ace Joe Colasacco, the 1965 1512 is a real gem in the Scuderia’s illustrious history. 

More Modenese beauties

There were, as ever, many other delightful Ferraris present, including hallowed 250 GTOs in the RAC TT Celebration, joined this year by their overshadowed replacement, the 250LM, which is itself celebrating its half-century. Another real Modenese beauty was a rare 860 Monza (an ex-Fangio car, no less), driven in the Sussex Trophy by RM auctioneer, Max Girardo. 

The St. Mary’s Trophy is always a firm Classic Driver favourite (where else can you see dinky Minis tussle with huge Ford Galaxies?) and 2013’s star-studded grid hosted some wonderful cars. Our pick was either a delectable Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA, in which Frank Stippler drove heroically from 14^thto 2^nd in a hard-fought charge in Saturday afternoon’s race, or Jackie Oliver’s gorgeous BMW 1800 TiSA. 

50 years since the origin of the GT40 programme

And how could we forget the abundance of Ford GT40s (27 of them, in fact) assembled to celebrate 50 years since the origin of the GT40 programme. The Whitsun Trophy played host to a diverse range of GT40 models, resplendent in a multitude of body/stripe colour combinations. Our favourite was the petite and pretty 1965 Roadster, though we may be slightly biased as Classic Driver had the fortunate opportunity to drive this ultra-rare car back in 2011. 

From pre-War voiturettes to big-brute Sixties GT cars

The diverse spread of cars at the Revival is truly astonishing. From pre-War voiturettes to big-brute Sixties GTs – there are few places that offer such a varying display of classic vehicles, all being put through their paces out on the unforgiving Goodwood race track. If you’ve an inkling of automotive interest, and have not been before, we urge you to head along to next year’s Revival. 

Photos: Steve Hall for Classic Driver © 2013

Porsche 918 Spyder: spy shots from Italy

A loyal reader of our parent site Autoblog.it has sent us a bunch of pictures starring a couple of mules of the Porsche 918 Spyder, the new hybrid plug-in model from the iconic Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer whose final production version has been unveiled just a few days ago at the ongoing 65th Frankfurt International Auto Show. The pictures were taken just a few days ago in northern Italy, something that would have us believe the car is still undergoing some testing in view of its imminent arrival on the markets worldwide. One of the two prototypes sports an all-black livery, while the other had a sort of two-tone ‘black & white’ color scheme that is somewhat reminiscent of the one showcased by the first prototype of the model.

The hybrid powertrain of the model is made of a naturally-aspirated 4.6-liter V8 petrol engine and two electric motors (one for each axle, fed by a 6.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack placed at the lower back of the monocoque) which can produce a combined output of 887 horsepower and a peak torque value between 917 and 1280 Nm, depending on the gearing. The 918 Spyder is equipped with dual-clutch seven-speed automatic gearbox and comes with five driving modes - ‘E-Power’, ‘Hybrid’, ‘Sport Hybrid’, ‘Race Hybrid’ and ‘Hot Lap’ - and the advanced Porsche Active Aerodynamic (PAA) system, which adjusts some aerodynamic bits of the body in real time according to the needs of the moment.

As you would expect from any car carrying a Porsche badge, performance figures are pretty impressive: on electric power alone, the 918 Spyder can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in under 7 seconds and hit a top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph), but with its full potential it can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 345 km/h (214 mph). In spite of all that power, fuel consumption is actually quite good: between 3.0 and 3.3 litres per 100 km.

via EUROCARBLOG

Airhead Revival

Josh Withers is no stranger to BMW airheads. After building his own 1973 BMW Cafe, Josh was commissioned to build one in a similar vein for someone he never met, except through countless phone calls and emails. After two years of obsessing over every detail of this 1972 BMW R75/5, Josh completed the project and finally met what he considers his modern-day "pen pal". Josh, a photographer by day, spent many hours through nights and weekends breathing life back into this airhead that was considered dead. Like many who currently have or had a project of their own, Josh gives us insight into what keeps him obsessing, creating, and building. Ride tastefully.

Frankfurt Favourites: Our magnificent seven from IAA 2013

With tired legs and pounding heads from trundling around the sprawling expanse that is the Frankfurt Motor Show, we bring you our personal favourites from the numerous premieres…

This year’s show was as much about the technology of presentation as it was to do with the vehicles themselves. Jaguar ushered in its new C-X17 SUV concept by seemingly making a solid wall disappear. The VW Group night was a Tron-esque spectacular which blurred the boundaries between actual and virtual reality. BMW transported guests to a utopian cityscape using clever lighting and sound effects. As always, there were 'grey suits' aplenty, company men reeling off well-rehearsed speeches to sober up proceedings – but, of course, the cars were always the stars…

Audi Sport Quattro Concept

To the surprise of journalists and visitors alike, the Audi Sport Quattro concept had a little of its limelight stolen by the quirky Nanuk. However, the off-road supercar could do nothing to dim our enthusiasm for the Ur-Quattro’s spiritual successor, significantly updated – mainly by way of a 250bhp power increase – since its first appearance in 2011. The honed styling and tweaked proportions, highlighted by the striking yellow paint, look to have only furthered its chances of small-series production. You’ve got our endorsement now, Audi, so just go on and build it, will you?

Porsche 918 Spyder

When Porsche announced a few years ago that the Carrera GT’s successor was to feature a hybrid drivetrain, many were sceptical. Why would the follow-up to one of the last ‘purist’ supercars need to be burdened with batteries and an electric motor, merely to save a few litres of fuel? As has always been the case, Porsche has proved its critics wrong with cold, hard results: with Walter Röhrl at the wheel, it recently snatched the Nürburgring Nordschleife production car lap record with a time of 6:57. We can’t wait to thumb the starter button ourselves.

BMW i8

Porsche isn’t the only German manufacturer investing big money in top-of-the-range electric or hybrid cars. While i3s are used at the massive Frankfurt show to shuttle visitors around, BMW’s stand showcases the production version of its i8 hybrid supercar. As expected, some details have changed since its reveal in conceptual form a couple of years ago – namely the lack of glass doors, and the switch from all-electric to plug-in hybrid drive. Priced at 126,000 euros, it’ll be interesting to see if the target group bites, and frugality becomes the new automotive status symbol.

Ferrari 458 Speciale

Compared with the high-tech offerings from the German giants, the latest Ferrari seems almost classical in its approach – yet we’d still free up a space in the garage for one, even if we only have the abilities of its predecessors (360 Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia) to judge it by. What’s more, the N.A.R.T.-inspired livery on the show car excites us just as much as the active aerodynamics, or the tweaks to the already impressive 4.5-litre V8.

Mercedes-Benz Concept S-Class Coupé 

As BMW has spent the last few months trying to explain exactly what a 4 Series is, its long-time adversary has wisely consolidated the replacement for the CL into the S-Class family to avoid similar confusion. Mercedes’ design department seems to be undergoing somewhat of a renaissance after several years of hit-and-miss creations, and focusing on classic proportions with harmonious contour lines and muscular arches is a welcome new trait. The concept’s 4.7-litre twin-turbo V8 will be carried over to production, but you can also expect Mercedes to produce its first hybrid in the luxury GT segment, too.

Jaguar C-X17

It seems nothing can go wrong for Jaguar Land Rover at the moment: F-types are being sold faster than they can be made, while the new Range Rover family is a triumph in engineering expertise. Although some would argue the two company’s products should remain as differentiated as possible, the market clearly wants a Jaguar 4x4 – hence this C-X17 concept, which previews both a brand new platform as well as a production-likely, ‘lifestyle SUV’. And there’s no better man to have penned the latter than Ian Callum; any better understanding of Jaguar DNA and he’d surely be a veterinary scientist.

Volvo Concept Coupé

For decades, there has been a universal respect for Volvo – but rarely have its cars displayed anything even resembling passion or emotion. It seems times are changing, as this Concept Coupé demonstrates a possible future design direction with a sprinkling of inspiration from the famous P1800. However, Volvo's Chinese owners want not only to prove their design skills and awareness of the company’s history, but also to showcase a new architecture on which many future models will be based. There’s no doubt a Volvo coupé such as this would be a great addition to European automotive culture – just ensure all this new-found flair extends to the meetings where you decide on model names please, Volvo.

Photos: Jan Baedeker

via Classic Driver