Aston Martin Cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed
While it won’t be an exact case of deja vu, fans at this year’s Festival of Speed will once again get to see the Le Mans-winning Aston Martin DBR9 tackle the hill at Goodwood.
Archive for Show Reports
18th Auto Mobil International Premieres from Porsche
Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is presenting the new Boxster RS 60 Spyder in Germany. From April 4, the most recent model in the successful Boxster series will be celebrating its first home appearance at the 18th Auto Mobil International (AMI) in Leipzig. The city is home to Porsche’s second production location, complementing the main factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. At the motor show there are other highlights to be appreciated, too: the innovative power train of the future Cayenne, with its Full Parallel Hybrid drive giving particularly low fuel consumption, and the Porsche RS Spyder racing car.
Autosport International - A couple of interesting vehicles…
KTM X-Bow
As I approached the KTM stand the X-Bow took centre stage and was generating much interest, what surprised me most was its incredible compactness. Being a gentleman of the longer legged species, and being over 6ft tall I think I would have to take lessons from Houdini to get into and out of this sports car, but this would be the case for most sports cars. Anyway this is the first sports car designed and developed by KTM as they take the first step from two to four wheels. The 50 year old designer and manufacturer of motorcycles most certainly have made the transition into radical lightweight sports cars with great effect.
Various technology partners have been involved in the design and development of this lightweight niche sports car, with Audi (engine), Dallara (aerodynamics) and Brembo (Braking System) at the forefront. The Audi lightweight four cylinder TFSI 240Hp engine propels this door less, roof less and window less sports car with a total deadweight of 700 Kilos, from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in just 3.9 seconds. This sports car is rear wheel drive and power is delivered through a six speed VW gearbox, with limited slip differentials as an option. The braking system is equally impressive with the X-Bow coming to a standstill from 100 kph in just 33.1 metres (108 feet).
The X-Box oozed race bred carbon fibre, all totally functional from the Formula 1 style driver and passenger monocoque and front “crumple” zone, to the underside and rear diffuser responsible for the impressive down force of 200 kilos at 200 kph.
Below is a rear view of the KTM X-Bow - The well crafted silencer is actually a “crumple” zone in the event of a rear shunt.
Radical R8 Supersport
Next on the agenda was to check out the Radical R8 Supersport which was officially launched at the Autosport show. Essentially the R8 has gone through an aerodynamic revamp with much testing being performed at the Motor Industries Research Association (MIRA) wind tunnel facility in the
Autosport International 2008 - Day Two!
Our Technical Editor, Mr. Caruana, has provided us with an update to last week’s events:
After a nice “full English” breakfast to set me up for the day I headed off nice and early for the show from the hotel via a local taxi. Upon arrival the exhibition centre was a hive of activity with exhibitors and mainly trade attendees all heading for the main entrance. After registering I made my way to the main Autosport Engineering & Manufacturing Exhibition hall which also housed the General and Historic Motorsport exhibitions.
The first port of call was the Colin McRae tribute stand which was a cluster of extremely rare original cars form Colin’s career pulled together from a number of private collectors, to pay respect to this master of the rallying world who unfortunately passed away after a helicopter crash in September of 2007.
On show was the original Talbot Sunbeam that Colin used to begin his professional rallying career, shown in red as the last car on the left of the picture below. Followed by the white Vauxhall Nova with its small 1300cc engine which Colin drove in the 1987 Swedish Rally as an eighteen year old.
Then came the first of the mighty Subaru’s, first was the Legacy RS which Colin won back to back British Championships with during 1991 and 1992. Also in 1992 Colin would come head to head with Tommi Makinen in the Nissan Sunny GTi-R during the Elonex Rally, and win by the skin of his teeth (2 seconds). The second Subaru on the stand was the 1995 World Rally winning 555, this was when Colin was at the pinnacle of his career.
Overall the exhibition was very well attended considering it was a trade day, and a real buzz about the place with acquaintances being re-kindled from all sectors of the industry. Full marks go to the show organisers and the exhibition centre as it was well organised and executed, with ample facilities to cater for the significant level of attendance. In tomorrows blog I will cover the KTM X-Bow and updated Radical SR8 Supersport.
Autosport International 2008 – The road to Birmingham.
Our Technical Editor, Mr. T. Caruana, just sent me this from the other side of the pond:
Well as I pack my bags for a trip to the midlands of the England (which we call the “Black” country here) for the 19th Autosport International show being held at the Birmingham NEC, and I get that funny feeling that I have forgotten something. I thought I would take the train to the show as every which way I turn these days I seem to be reminded of my “carbon footprint”, and in any case the traffic is notoriously hideous around the exhibition centre especially on a Friday night when the show is scheduled to finish.
The journey through
I started to have a browse through In the official show brief in preparation on the internet once I managed to get logged on, to find that KTM will be showcasing there first high performance automobile the exhilarating X-BOW. Also on show will be the revised and updated Radical SR8 Supersport. I am also very pleased to see that there will be a tribute to the late and great Colin McRae, probably the most prolific rally driver to ever grace this planet who was tragically involved in a helicopter crash a few months ago.
I will also be covering the Autosport Engineering segment of the show, highlighting suppliers who essentially make Motorsport happen. I will be looking at specific designers and manufacturers whom are pushing the boundaries of physics with innovative and cutting edge technologies.
So to the show we go….
Festival of Speed 2007 a Resounding Success !!
Oli, Dan, Frank and myself have all recovered (finally) from the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed. What a fabulous event!
Each year, I leave the event wondering how Lord March will top the event next year. Astoundingly, he always manages to pull it off. Last year’s central display wasn’t as impressive as it had been in previous years, but this year’s suspended historic Toyota racers was truly an incredible sight to behold. Five historic Toyota race cars, from Formula One to Rallying were suspended between twenty and seventy feet off the ground. Spectators were able to walk completely underneath the cars dangling above their heads.
The weather was mixed, to put it mildly, but that didn’t deter the throngs of people who came out to see their four wheeled heroes and the amazing men who piloted them. There were a few shunts into the bales over the course of the weekend, but fortunately there were no serious injuries either to drivers or spectators.
We’ve been sorting through the more than three thousand images we captured over the three day event, and are pleased to report we have a stack of excellent images to share with you. In fact, we’ve got so many, it’s taking quite a lot of time to pare down the quantity, label and catalog each image before posting them online. It will likely be another week or two before all the photos are online. Please bear with us - in the meantime, enjoy the twenty images we’ve posted in the “Taster” gallery.
Below is an excerpt from the official Goodwood release:
The 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed is now over for another year. Despite changeable weather conditions throughout the weekend, including near-Biblical rain all day Sunday, nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of the sell-out 145,000+ event spectators.
The reception received by Lewis Hamilton, Britain’s Formula 1 superstar, was immense, and Lewis loved every minute of it as he entertained a wildly partisan crowd behind the wheel of a Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes F1 car for the very first time on British soil, two weeks ahead of the UK Grand Prix debut at Silverstone. Many of his huge fan base were also able to get up close as he signed autographs and spoke with the crowd.
Other F1 stars, past and present, including Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fitttipaldi, Jenson Button and David Coulthard also took to the Goodwood Hill in a variety of racing machinery. Stewart was reunited with the same Lola that he drove in the Indy 500 40-years ago, while Coulthard starred in an ex-Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-type. Marc Gené was on scintillating form in the Ferrari F2006 F1 car while Ralf Schumacher and Franck Montagny were hugely entertaining in the Toyota TF106 GP car.
Somewhat slower, but also hugely entertaining, was the spectacle of motor sport drivers and riders like Damon Hill, Troy Bayliss, Chris Atkinson, Mark Webber and Jenson Button pedalling up the 1.16-mile hillclimb to massive cheers in the inaugural Goodwood Organic Milk Race. A big cheer also went out too to The Red Arrows, who were truly awe-inspiring, despite the damp weather conditions
American Rod Millen recorded the fastest time of the Festival weekend up the Hill, recording a staggering time of 47.18-seconds in his wild Pikes Peak Toyota Takoma. The antics of the many motorcycle racers were also hugely appreciated by the spectators, but nothing compared with jaw-dropping exploits of European Stunt-Riding Champion Chris Pfeiffer who wowed spectators and hardened motorcyclists alike with his signature stunt moves on a BMW F8000S ’bike. No handed wheelies, 360-degree spins and outrageous ‘stoppies’ stunned the crowd.
Rally fans were treated to a wealth of iconic rally cars, plus many current WRC machines, being driven as their makers intended on the Goodwood Forest Rally Stage. Star drivers, including Petter Solberg, Paddy Hopkirk, Chris Atkinson and renowned ace Stig Blomqvist showed their best sideways style. Rally deity Carlos Sainz visited the Festival of Speed for the first time this year and proved that he hasn’t lost any of his natural flair aboard the Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 in which Bjorn Waldegard won the 1990 Safari rally.
It was Toyota that took centre stage at the Festival, celebrating its 70th anniversary and also 50 years involvement in motor sport. It was impossible to miss the spectacular 38-metre high structure in front of Goodwood House, showcasing an array of Toyota racing and rallying classics from disciplines including Formula 1, Indycars and Group C sports-prototypes. Toshio Suzuki and Frank Montagny will also be giving the dramatic TS020-GT One Le Mans car an airing on Goodwood Hill.
