Last weekend saw one of the greatest classic car events in the world unfold at Goodwood. Spanning three days, the Goodwood Revival is a celebration of automotive infatuation like no other; owners of some of the rarest and most expensive historic metal risk their prized possessions and their lives racing (and sometimes crashing) a plethora of the world’s most lust-worthy cars. The Mechanists launched a three-pronged attack on the event to bring you the best sights from possibly the best event on the automotive calendar.
People attend the Revival to socialise as much as they are to see the racing. Surrounded by historic race cars and enthusiasts dressed in amazingly put together period attire from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, it’s hard to think of a better place to do just that. It is also one of the rare instances where people give you weird looks if you’re not dressed like you’ve just returned from WW2. This year was also a celebration of Land Rover’s 40th Birthday, which meant that among the Concours-worthy Ferraris, Aston Martins, and Jaguars, there was also a pleasing smattering of muddy Landies, many of which had been literally sitting in a field for 40 years.
As amazing as the Revival is to immerse yourself in, it is also nail-biting. Watching your dream cars hurl themselves around the track, duking it out for first place is an incredible spectacle in itself, and then you think about the cost of the repairs if one of them were to crash and it craziness of it all really hits home. And crash they do; particularly hair-raising moments included a white Aston Martin DB4 going for a spin, a Ferrari 250 SWB taking a bit of a bashing, and a Plymouth Barracuda trying to see how much the chicane walls it could fit into its radiator. However, most impressive (and wince-inducing) of all was Peter Chambers in his red Lotus Cortina, who went barrel-rolling across the countryside with smashed windows and trim being flung from the tumbling wreckage. Luckily, Chambers managed to walk away from the crash, making the weekend totally injury-free, at least for the drivers.
For those of you who didn’t manage to attend, have a flip through of our gallery of photos from all three days, and make sure you attend next year, you won’t regret it.
