Goodwood Celebrates 911

It’s a glorious day of Goodwood sunshine and taking centre stage at the Festival of Speed this year is the Porsche 911.

The iconic sports car is 50 years old and seven generations of the Porsche coupe are on display at the event in a unique sculpture.

The bespoke 911-inspired art piece is a highly distinctive ‘ installation’ and is displayed, as has become the tradition, prominently outside Goodwood House.

Over 820,000 911s have been built since 1963, and examples of each of its incarnations will be present at the Festival of Speed.

From the very beginning the car has been at home on race circuits and rally stages all over the world, earning a reputation as a quick and dependable winner. In fact, two thirds of the 30,000 race victories achieved by Porsche to date have been recorded by the 911.

Marking the first half-century of the Porsche 911 at Goodwood is hugely appropriate in the 20^th anniversary year of the Festival of Speed.  To date, the legendary sports coupe has featured at every single Goodwood Festival, from the first event in 1993 – when an unexpectedly high 27,500 enthusiasts turned-up– to the 185,000+ visitors that attended the world’s greatest celebration of car culture last year.

Ferrari F12berlinetta At Goodwood

Ferrari will debut the F12berlinetta at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed from July 11-14.

The company will also show a bespoke FF, a ‘Tailor-Made’ 458 Spider and Eric Clapton’s SP12 EC, produced by Ferrari’s Special Projects division.

The front-engined F12berlinetta is the newest generation in Ferrari’s lineage of 12-cylinder sports cars.  Aerodynamic efficiency was a top priority in the styling and development of the F12berlinetta, which features increased downforce and reduced drag figures.

Its 6.2-litre direct-injected V12 produces a maximum output of 740hp and recently won the title of ‘Best Performance Engine’ in the International Engine of the Year Awards.

While the car the most powerful road-going Ferrari ever produced, it delivers fuel consumption and emissions levels that are 30 per cent lower than that of the previous generation.  Mated to Ferrari’s 7-speed dual-clutch F1 transmission, 0-60mph is reached in just 3.1 seconds and a top speed of over 211mph.

Ferrari will also be represented by the Scuderia Ferrari team, who will be demonstrating their 2010 Formula 1 car throughout the weekend, driven by Scuderia Ferrari driver, Marc Gene.  The F10 chassis, no.285, was piloted by Fernando Alonso to four victories in 2010, including an Italian Grand Prix victory at Monza.

Alfa 4C at Goodwood

Alfa Romeo today released more details of the stunning 4C sports car that will make its UK debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July.

With an F1-inspired carbon fire monocoque chassis and lightweight components, the 4C weighs in at just 895kg!

The compact sportster will feature two bucket seats and technologies borrowed from the 8C Competizione.

It will be powered by a new 1750cc petrol turbo engine that uses a dry aluminium block and twin dry clutch too.

Built in Modena, the 4C’s production process integrates Alfa Romeo’s design roles and Maserati’s manufacturing functions.

To design a car that is both exclusive and achievable for Alfa Romeo fans across the world, designers focused on lightness and efficiency over greater horsepower, which would have impacted the price and running costs.

Combining high technology and craftsmanship through an advanced mix of hi-tech materials which combine stiffness and strength but also with reduced weight, the Alfa 4C’s weight to power ratio is less than 4kg/HP with a total dry weight of just 895kg, making 4C one of the lightest cars in the world.

Details of the price and on sale date have yet to be announced.

Hot Peugeot RCZ R

Peugeot is to launch a hot version of the RCZ coupe (See review section) at the end of 2013. It will be revealed for the first time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.

The RCZ R will be the most powerful road car in Peugeot’s history – squeezing a massive 260bhp from the 1.6-litre THP petrol engine.

The RCZ is already a head-turner but the R model will feature special paintwork and logos.

Two red Rs will be displayed for the first time in public during the Festival of Speed weekend, driven by the UK Peugeot 208 GTi Ambassador, Bradley Philpot – a finalist in the recent Nürburgring 24-hour race that saw three Peugeot 208 GTi cars win their SP2T class.

While the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year celebrates its 20^th anniversary, it is also the case that as the gates to the Festival open on 12^th July, it is the very same date 100 years ago that Peugeot won the French Grand Prix, coming first and second.

The THP engine was recently awarded the International Engine of the Year 2013 for the seventh year in succession.