It’s been a cracking few days down here at Goodwood, what with it being the 25th anniversary and all. It’s usually just a few hundred boffins and car nuts ogling some 50 million dollar racecar that someone stuffed into the hay bales but this year it has been somewhat more enthusiastic than some half-heartedly warmed up leftovers of a posh automotive garden party. I hadn’t been down here for two or three years and since I’d just returned from the US (with Nathan, of course) and was to start a long term test of the Baltazar Stardust 2.0TS Lithium…. what better way to do that than by hauling myself and Nathan together with enough food to feed a small elephant, sleeping bags and a foldable tent, camera gear and computers… the list carries on but the Stardust gallantly swallowed everything. The 80 mile trip flew by with ease and the humble car impressed. We arrived a little early to set up and snoop around, mainly as Nathan had never seen this place before. The massive, quirky French central sculpture erected for Ceder’s 90th birthday was hard to miss, being taller than Nelson’s column but having various F1 cars precariously hanging on, it practically dominated the sky there. To add to that, there was some man with honking gigantic nads zooming about in a jet pack with near unbelievable skill and agility. After pitching camp and wandering about we were told to go get ready for a quick go up the hill in the Stardust as they had managed to squeeze us into the middle of some older cars that were practicing and preparing for the days to come. Cooking slowly in the purgatory heat as time refused to pass like the hot stifling air Nathan and I decided to have a look around the garages and see if any gems would catch the eye. A while later we were summoned to our task at hand to take a gander at the hillclimb, and by god it’s hard to forget but oh so easy to underestimate if you just watch it from a screen or from afar - it isn’t called a hillclimb for no reason. Even doing 60kph all the way up the hill is enough to make all your hair stand on end as the straights dart into trickly curved corners and as it heads upwards, the walls close in, the menacing bales look ready to tackle you like an offending rugby player. Seriously, I may come off as a snobby arse but I have the utmost respect and admiration for all these nutters that have the stout to cane it up the hill in unhinged, maniacal creations and flying through the course using their unparalleled skill, memory and reflexes to complete in under a minute. And god above, there was no lack of these monstrosities, even the madmen from Gryphon Gear showed up. By far my favourite was seeing all the aged beauties grace the hill, especially the Barricada V-8 2700SA. The freshly debuted and gorgeous CMW CS-series is something else I wouldn’t mind having a go in, but perhaps I can leave that to Nathan as I’ve got this Stardust here (more on this car later when I follow up with an update after releasing the RJM review). I’m a bit disappointed GBF didn’t show up this year, but oh well. Apart from a few crashes and a mishap with fuel lines in the pits that caused a fire, it has been an absolutely euphoric experience.
(Nathan)
We have had one hell of a festival this year, just like we’re used to. We’ve seen new and striking designs, historical stuff that triggers our nostalgia, but most importantly, we’ve had a great time with all of our fans out there. And as always, there’s some stuff we couldn’t help but glue our eyes to. Here’s our picks for the GFoS 2018!
- I’ll have two number 9s. A particularly good mobile restaurant in the shape of a delivery van was present in the pits for everyone to enjoy some greasy fast food with their exhaust fumes and brutal engine sounds. I’d be lying if I said I did not return every day the festival was open.
- Gryphon Gear Nightfury: styled after an actual dragon (Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon), and breathing fire like one would from its 7L v12, as well as one of the meanest aero kits I’ve ever seen, the GG Nightfury takes the fastest time this year after climbing the hill in just 35 seconds!
- Bramhall promised to bring three cars to the hillclimb, of which I was quite fond of the modern Firenza. Sadly, they didn’t show up in the end.
- Shromet brought their 1000hp+ Interval electric race car. If the future looks this good and is this powerful, I’m down for it. Also great news; the Interval is coming back as a production car! I should definitely get one.
- Rennen teased their new Apophis. Looks awesome, but we were teased little info; I guess we’ll have to wait.
- Atlas brought two very quirky and weird looking cars, but they also brought one that looks proper; that is the Atlas R; again, though, we were given no info.
- CMW played modern and classic; their Daytona-conquering CRT-CMW Turbo brought the SASC nostalgia and its flat 6 powerplant was the perfect dressing for their speed salad. They also seem to be willing to fight my Challenger back with their CS42ER. You beat me in looks, but in speed? We’ll see.
- Holts brought their quirky-looking HX-R, with 960 horsepower to boot and a 0-62 time of 2.5 seconds. This seems to be quite the machine, but no skidpad data was given; I’m assuming it is good, however, since its aero is active apparently.
- And the FABEL Barnard Eco ARX is just perfect. Such a little city car being turned into a rallycross monster is always a fun sight to see, specially when it’s done so nicely. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one when it runs in rallycross races. Did I say the little one has 570 horsepower? I predict a successful future for this one.
- Deer and Hunt showcased the five generations of their iconic SuperCoupe. From V6s to classic V8s and more recently, V10s, the SuperCoupes never fall back when it comes to speed, and they could be seen laying down some serious rubber whenever they launched; DaH is a must see stand if you’re into classic muscle, v8s and burnt rubber.
- Montes and Zenshi released their new supercars. Both carry on more or less what we’ve seen so far from both companies, with driver enjoyment as their main objective and speed as a secondary objective.
- The new Kyoki Raider is another hypercar producing north of 1300hp from just a 4.7 liter v8. That’s simply insane. If it has the handling to back its power, we’ll have a serious contender here.
- Shelton Igor. Takes balls to push a V6 that far and put it in a hyperute, but they did it, the madmen. I’ll keep an eye out on these guys just to see what they make.
- Sakura brought a selection of four different cars, the Deva, RS-GT, RS-K and Deko. Shoutout to the RS-K, a tiny monster of a car, if a weight under 1102 lbs is any indication.
- Chipworx brought their Thunder, an 80s Caliban Thunder on steroids. Not only they gave it a superb kit that makes it prettier than ever before, it also packs quite a punch with more than twice the power the original has at 234hp. Did I say they kept it lightweight? Quite the funhaver they have there.
- If I have to pick a clear favourite from the Scagliati stand, that’ll be the Serenissima Mille. A 1000hp limousine capable of reaching 250mph? Sign me up already. All of this keeping a fuel eco of over 20mpg. Absolute unit. They also displayed the handsome Cinquetorri and Zoccarato Scoperta, of which I dream of owning one one day. Solid show by Scagliati. To top it all off, Il Dominante Veloce. I’ll let images say more than anything words can say.
What a riot. See you next year Goodwood!