LEGO has turned plenty of vehicles into toys over the years, but, believe it or not, never as an official partnership with a Japanese automaker. That makes the LEGO Speed Champions Nissan GT-R Nismo a first of its kind, kind of. The 298-part LEGO GT-R Nismo is 25-per-cent larger than previous Speed Champions sets. LEGOs designers say they enjoyed the challenge of getting the Japanese supercars aesthetic, including those crucial taillights, to come through in brick form. View this post on Instagram No driver’s license required! Thanks to our partnership with @lego, children of all ages can build and drive their own Nissan #GTR #NISMO – made out of #LEGO® bricks 🙌 Available globally in January 2020. #OMGTR A post shared by Nissan (@nissan) on Nov 25, 2019 at 8:22am PST“In LEGO Speed Champions, we always aim to include new types of racing vehicles. And when we focused on drifting and racing, the record-breaking Nissan GT-R, and especially the new GT-R NISMO, was at the top of our wish list,” said LEGO design lead Chris Stamp. “Authenticity is always our main concern, and we spent a lot of time exploring different building techniques to correctly recreate the taillights, as they are one of the most recognizable details on the car. I am really happy with the end result!”They’re happy, but how about you? The real GT-R Nismo does have some corners on it, but there’s still a roundness that never quite comes through in brick form. It took the LEGO pros a year total to develop the set, compared to the 10-plus years it took Nissan to build the actual car. Unfortunately, it’s not likely to help with your holiday gift list, because it doesn’t go on sale until January
Origin: Nissan GT-R Nismo gets bricked by LEGO Speed Champions
speed
2020 Ford Puma ST: hot crossover laps the ‘Ring at speed
Ford is readying an ST performance version of its new Puma SUV, and our spy photographers have caught a prototype being put through its paces at the Nurburgring. The Hyundai Kona N rival has shed some camouflage since we last saw it, revealing that it will feature a trapezoidal lower grille design, large-diameter performance-inspired alloy wheels shod in low-profile tyres, and the same wing-mounted headlight clusters as the standard model. A prominent lower bodykit extends around the car from the splitter-style front bumper to a new rear bumper designed around a twin exhaust tailpipe – the same as that fitted to the Fiesta ST. Official details of the model’s drivetrain and chassis set-up are still yet to be confirmed, but images of the prototype raising a rear wheel under hard cornering show it will feature a stiffer suspension set-up in the same vein as the Fiesta ST. The big wheels appear to hide larger-diameter front brakes, too, while the Puma seems lower to the ground than the stock model. Ford global development boss Hau Thai-Tang told Autocar earlier this year that the Puma “would be a good place for us to look” in expanding the ST range beyond the Fiesta and Focus in Europe. The Puma ST is expected to share its key running gear, including a 197bhp 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo engine, with the Fiesta ST. An ST version of the Puma (as rendered below by Autocar) is unlikely to vary drastically from the ST Line version of the car, which was revealed back in April. But we can expect a bespoke chassis set-up, possibly including an optional limited-slip differential, selectable drive modes and a launch control function. Thai-Tang said Ford is keen to continue leveraging its Ford Performance arm for road car development, but the company would not simply look to create an ST version of each car. In addition to its two European hot hatches, Ford also makes ST versions of its Edge and Explorer large SUVs. “We look at creating STs by very objective measures to make sure it is credible as an ST,” said Thai-Tang. “Do we have the right building blocks (on which to base it)?” A new Focus RS is also understood to be in development, but it’s unlikely to appear before 2022, after the Focus’s mid-life update. “We have nothing to announce but we recognise the importance of that car,” said Thai-Tang. It is understood that hybrid power is one consideration for the Focus RS. “We’ll see where we go,” Ford’s automotive president Joe Hinrichs said. “The world is changing on powertrain and propulsion. No hints, but there’s a lot to talk
Origin: 2020 Ford Puma ST: hot crossover laps the ‘Ring at speed
Bugatti Chiron breaks the internet – and top speed records – by nailing 490 km/h
Bugatti has just smashed the record for the fastest production car by a country mile, pulling off an incredible 304.77-mph (490-km/h) top speed run at Volkswagens Ehra-Lessien test track August 2, reports Top Gear.To complete this incredible feat, the production Chiron was modified with a 25-cm-longer tail section, highlighted by a pair of over-under shotgun-style exhaust tips designed to throw emissions from the tailpipe as far from the car as possible to reduce turbulence.Bugattis head of exterior design, Frank Heyl, said, for obvious reasons, the company had to get everything right with this car, from the aesthetics to the engine to the aerodynamics.While the aesthetics may be the least important factor when it comes to breaking speed records, the car looks fabulous, with a split rear window and an orange-and-black colour scheme lifted, we think, from an authentic 1930s Bugatti Type 57.The luxurious interior of this way-fast Chiron has been swapped out for a much more purposeful arrangement, with only the drivers seat left intact; everything else has been replaced with computers and a roll cage.The 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine has been slightly tuned up to 1,600 horsepower, which is why Bugatti gave the car the nickname Thor.The real hero here is Michelin, which was finally able to make a tire that could withstand the high speeds and incredible down force.We expect other supercar makers will, eventually, catch up with Bugatti, but that doesnt really matter anymore, because the French brand is retiring from setting speed records; in a release, CEO Stephan Winkelmann said he wants to focus on other automotive milestones instead.Our goal was to be the first manufacturer ever to reach the magic 300-mile-per-hour mark, Winkelmann was quoted. We have now achieved this making ourselves, the entire team and myself, incredibly proud.We have shown several times that we build the fastest cars in the world. In the future we will focus on other
Origin: Bugatti Chiron breaks the internet – and top speed records – by nailing 490 km/h
This speed shop will fit your new Toyota Supra with a manual
2020 Toyota SupraHandout / Toyota Disciples at the Church of Supra cried out in collective anguish when they learned the 2020 version of the Toyota sports car would not be available with a manual transmission.Never mind that most modern boxes can shift gears faster than most humans, it was the loss of driver interaction that was mourned.Toyota knows this and, back at the North American Inernational Auto Show last January, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada told assembled media he was open to the idea of adding a stick (though he’s since gone back against that prospect).One performance outlet in Texas apparently couldnt wait anyway, and decided to engineer its own solution. First reported on at CarBuzz, a Texan outfit called European Auto Group is now taking customer deposits for a 2020 Toyota Supra manual swap.This is the same crew that stuck a gated six-speed manual in a Ferrari 430 Scuderia, so chances are good they know what theyre doing. Theyre also working on a stickshift 458 Italia, by the way.In a Canadian connection, the crew at EAG have tag-teamed with the Canucks at ProTuning Freaks in Ontario for help in offering a power boost in addition to the manual swap. Yes, that ProTuning, the one that works on BMWs. After all, at heart, a Supra shares much with a Z4. According to the report, EAG will source all its parts from BMW, meaning the greasy bits will likely come from Munich. But the madman behind it all says he would enjoy deploying a shift lever like the one found in Toyotas own GR HV Sports Concept, the one shown back in 2017. That would keep its interior appearance all in the family, at least.Cost? Figure on a bill somewhere in the $12,000 range, and to be without your Supra for about a
Origin: This speed shop will fit your new Toyota Supra with a manual
Analysis: why the public is split on speed limiters
The recent burst of publicity around the mandatory introduction of speed limiters on new cars from 2022 has certainly brought them to the attention of car buyers. But how will they be received? Are they seen as a brilliant safety initiative that will save lives or an Orwellian intrusion adding to the danger of our roads by taking control away from the driver? Market research firm Simpson Carpenter questioned more than 1000 car buyers on behalf of Autocar to find out. Supporters of speed limiters outnumber opponents by two to one: 49% are in favour of speed limiters, while 24% are opposed. But those with strong feelings on an issue are always the most vocal and here the gap is much narrower – 18% are strongly in favour while 12% are strongly opposed. Support for speed limiters is strongest among women and those intending to buy a hybrid or electric car next time. The most strongly opposed are those whose car has an engine size of 2.0 litres or bigger. Among this group, there are as many opponents as supporters (39% in each camp) and opponents are nearly twice as likely to feel strongly about the issue as supporters. Reasons given spontaneously for favouring speed limiters focus on the expected improvement in road safety and the reduction in the number of people speeding. Among supporters, those intending to buy a hybrid or electric car next time round are much more likely to point to road safety and reducing accidents as the reasons for their support. Older drivers are more likely to cite the reduction in the numbers speeding. Questioned in more detail, a strong majority of car buyers agree that reducing speeds will be good for the environment and will save thousands of lives each year. Nevertheless, there are major reservations: more than half think that drivers are better than technology at deciding on the right speed. Nearly half (47%) think speed limiters are a major intrusion into personal liberty and 41% believe they’ll cause more accidents than they prevent. What is remarkable is the stark difference in opinion between those in favour and those opposed to speed limiters, particularly in relation to their safety benefits and their intrusiveness. Nine in 10 of those in favour believe speed limiters will save thousands of lives each year. In contrast, more than eight in 10 of those opposed believe speed limiters will cause more accidents than they prevent. Almost nine in 10 opponents see them as a major intrusion into personal liberty, with as many as six in 10 feeling very strongly about their intrusiveness. The bad news for the industry is that many new car buyers plan to take avoiding action. Half of those against speed limiters say they will delay their next purchase so they can keep on driving without restriction and a further 30% say they will buy used rather than new. Even among those in favour of speed limiters in principle, nearly one in four will seek to avoid them. The good news is that one in four of those who support speed limiters say they would now be more likely to buy a new car. However, the net effect looks like being another drag on new car
Origin: Analysis: why the public is split on speed limiters
Bentley centenary: 2019 Bentayga Speed meets 1919 EXP2
If you are to understand why Bentleys are as they are today, it is important also to understand how they got that way. It’s a tale now 100 years in the telling, or about a year per 15 words of this story. And as I’ve already wasted three years so far, you’ll forgive me if I skip some of the less important and, frankly, dull bits in the middle – also known as half the history of the company. What you’re looking at here are the bookends: the one you likely recognise is a Bentayga Speed, the latest product off Crewe’s production line, the other a rather older Bentley. The oldest, in fact. It’s called EXP2 – it is the second EXperimental Prototype – and although it wasn’t completed until 1920, it was certainly in build in 1919, the year in which Bentley Motors came into existence. So it’s either 100 years old, or in its 100th year, depending on how you look at it. The first car, EXP1, was tested by this very magazine in 1920 by SCH Davis, who was not only an Autocar staffer but would also go on to win Le Mans for Bentley in 1927 by a margin that still has not been beaten to this day. Sadly, EXP1 was broken up a lifetime ago. EXP2, by contrast, is very much alive and, despite its incalculable value, a car Bentley was happy to hand over to us for the day. We used it as we would any other car, so when we needed shots of the Bentayga taken from a moving platform, EXP2 briefly became the most valuable camera car in existence. An abuse of the privilege of being able to drive such a car? Absolutely not: we treated it exactly how WO Bentley would have wanted. WO is a much misunderstood man. He was a decent driver, good enough to come fourth in one of his own cars in the 1922 Tourist Trophy, but not a great. He was a fairly terrible businessman who lost control of his company less than five years after delivering its first production car. But he was one of the finest engineers this country has ever produced. Long before Bentley Motors, he was designing engines for World War I fighter aircraft that saved an untold number of lives because, unlike many others of that era, a Bentley BR1 or BR2 motor could usually be counted on to keep working. In the engines he designed for Bentleys, he pioneered the use of aluminium pistons, and fitted them all with overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and twin-spark ignition. So if you think they sound like reasonably modern innovations in the road car arena, be advised WO was doing it all a century ago. Yet – and this is where people get him wrong – the pursuit of ultimate performance was never his aim. His vision, stated unambiguously and in his own words, was for “a good car, a fast car, the best in its class”. Refinement was just as important to WO as power, which is why he rejected the efficient twin overhead camshaft layout because at the time it could not be made quiet enough. His desire to make the best possible car he could is what prompted none other than Ettore Bugatti to call them “the fastest lorries in the world”. Even though his cars won Le Mans five times in seven years between 1924 and 1930, it was quality he sought most. In an era when normal cars were rickety, inexactly constructed and often highly unreliable jalopies, Bentley built cars that would travel tens of thousands of miles without so much as blowing a bulb. The strip-down report on one of the Le Mans-winning engines read, in its entirety, ‘nothing to report’. You can see the philosophy in EXP2. It is so primitive in so many ways, from its beaded-edge tyres and brakeless front axle to its centre throttle and resolutely synchro-free gearbox. But its 3.0-litre four-cylinder motor starts instantly and settles down to an idle so even, you feel it would burble away quite happily to itself until the tank ran dry. In fact it wouldn’t, but only because you have to pump the fuel from tank to engine by hand every few minutes. It’s a beautiful and brilliant thing to drive. I doubt it has much more than 75bhp, but it also only weighs 658kg – about the same as a fully trimmed Caterham – so it goes way, way better than you expect. You travel from place to place at the same speed as everyone else, and while its 80mph top speed sounds distinctly modest by today’s measures, in 1919 it would have been easily twice that of the average car of the era. This was the Bugatti Chiron of its day. So I understand the temptation of looking at the imposing bulk of the Bentayga and wondering what happened. But the truth is that in many ways it’s not the modern car that’s the exception to the Bentley rule, but the old one. EXP2 was built as a test-bed prototype, hence its beautiful but rather flimsy and impractical super-lightweight body. As Bentley got into its stride during the 1920s, its cars got bigger and heavier: four years after the 3 Litre was introduced, Bentley was making 6.5-litre engines, which were eventually expanded to 8.0 litres and were often found in cars carrying vast
Origin: Bentley centenary: 2019 Bentayga Speed meets 1919 EXP2
The eTrophy goes to Jaguar for conquering EV speed freaks’ hearts
Tight racing was a hallmark of the inaugural I-Pace eTrophy Championship, and last weekends series-ending weekend in Brooklyn in sight of the Manhattan skyline was no exception.Havas Formula BROOKLYN, NY When the dust settled on the temporary track on the edge of Upper New York Bay Saturday, Brazilian driver Sergio Jimenez won the race and clinched the drivers championship in the inaugural season for the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy series. The following day, on the same track, he put a punctuation mark on his title with another race victory, closing out the 10-race series in style.The real winner, however, has to be Jaguar, for not only the Herculean logistical task of moving machines, mechanics and gear to nine global cities to stage the racing over a six-month period, but for managing to successfully transform their all-electric road car into a bona fide racer.The I-Pace eTrophy car differs from the I-Pace you can buy at your local Jaguar dealer in just a few ways. All the creature comforts, including front and rear seats, have been stripped out, replaced with a roll cage and a race seat. Theres also a racing steering wheel in place of the leather-appointed one in the road car. The A/C system is still there but instead of cooling the driver it cools the battery pack. The race version also has tweaked suspension, beefed-up brakes and the software that runs the powertrain gets a bit of reworking. Apart from that, the two cars are identical. Exact same 90-kWh battery. Same electric motors driving the four wheels. Same inverter. I-Pace eTrophy championship manager Marion Barnaby joined Jaguar three years ago with the eventual goal of putting together the series.(Jaguar) had already been in Formula E so we knew there was a slot there for a support race, and we were fortunate to be the first manufacturer to approach (Formula E management) with the idea, she said Saturday at the Brooklyn track. We launched the idea in Frankfurt in 2017 and were now in July of 2019 and were finishing our first season. Thats a quick turnaround. The cars, the logistics, everything. Its just been a great experience and Im really proud of it.Not only has the first season proved to be a showcase for Jaguars electrification technology, its also provided some real world research and development.While youd expect that to centre around the electric powertrain given the fact the race I-Paces are driven flat-out in anger for 25 minutes Barnaby says it has been things as mundane as a mounting brackets integrity that has shown up on race engineers radar.If we know that might be an issue on a race track, thats great information for the road car team, she said. Batteries and drivetrain are performing just how we expected them to.That could very well be since Jaguar was the first major automaker to sign up for the then-fledgling Formula E series, which capped its fifth season here in New York. Much of what was learned in those early years in terms of battery software and heat control found its way into the I-Pace road car design.The eTrophy support series also shares with Formula E an impressive driver lineup. True, the latter has many former F1 hot shoes with more expected next season, in addition to new teams from Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, but the eTrophy drivers have some pedigree too. Series champion Jimenez has had stints in GP2 and Brazilian stock car racing. And then there are the two pilots from the Letterman Rahal Lanigan team. Kathleen Legge has driven the top open-wheel cars in the world, including F1, CART and IndyCar. And Bryan Sellers lengthy resume includes the 2018 GTD title in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. For Sellers, competing in the I-Pace eTrophy series has been a revelation.Getting one lap in this thing is about as hard as anything Ive had to do, he said prior to Saturdays race. It just doesnt always reward driving hard. Its driving smart that makes it.First and foremost, this is an electric racecar.Once the initial shock of the sensory deprivation is gone, the torque delivery system of the car is what really is the difference from an internal combustion engine car, Sellers offered. And an understanding of how speed and torque relate together in the car, and then how to apply that understanding.Then theres braking, which he calls monstrous, noting that where the Formula E drivers are braking around the 175 to 250 yard range out from a corner, I-Pace drivers are waiting till about the 50-metre mark to jump on the binders. Despite being 200 kilos lighter than the road-going I-Pace, this racer still tips the Toledo making it about twice as heavy as what Sellers is used to.So when you overshoot a brake zone that weight just carries you, he explained, adding that because of this the only real passing you get is via dive-bomb moves into tight corners. Great for fans; not so much fun for drivers.To that end, Sellers is hoping tweaks to the braking systems over the off-season will make for
Origin: The eTrophy goes to Jaguar for conquering EV speed freaks’ hearts
Changeover to greener cars needs to speed up, say world’s engineers
The rate at which older combustion-engined cars are removed from the world’s roads will have to speed-up if air quality around the globe is to be tackled rapidly, the world’s car engineers believe. “Ultimately the speed at which we can changeover the fleet is the constraint on cleaning up air and I think we need a forcing function for us as an industry to work around,” said Paul Mascarenas, a board director of FISITA, which represents 200,000 global automotive engineers. Mascarenas, a former senior Ford Europe engineer, believes that even if battery electric vehicles were available in multiple model ranges and in free supply today, it would still take 10 to 15 years to substantially replace the world’s fleet of combustion-engined cars with cleaner alternatives. “There will be various constraints, including new car supply, and supply chain, but it is not clear when or how those constraints will be taken off,” said Mascarenas. “It is undetermined the time to change over the fleet, to get to one or 1.5 billion alternative fuel vehicles in service globally by 2040,” he said. European governments are aligned around banning the sale of solely combustion-engined new cars by 2040, with many setting targets for a reduced percentage by 2030. The UK government, for example, wants new cars sales to be “50 to 75 per cent electrified” by 2030 and is working on a definition of electrified, likely to hinge on an electric-only range of 60 miles. FISITA chief executive Chris Mason describes the switchover as a “significant challenge”, but believes it will be substantially pushed by “societal acceptance and demand” rather than “leverage” by politicians. “When enough models are in the market, car-buyers will make the changeover happen,” said Mason. Incentives to encourage UK car-buyers to move to electric vehicles have been boosted by this week’s announcement by the Treasury that company-car drivers of BEVs will be zero-rated for company car-tax. But the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has been angered that incentives for plug-in cars have been reduced, and sales of such models have fallen. However, others in the industry blame a lack of model supply for the drop-off. Macarenas and Mason were speaking at a FISITA conference in London entitled “Exploring the Future of Mobility
Origin: Changeover to greener cars needs to speed up, say world’s engineers
Bloodhound land speed record project to test in South Africa
Bloodhound, the British land speed record project dramatically rescued from receivership early this year after a last-minute intervention from engineering millionaire Ian Warhurst, is to begin a series of high-speed trials in South Africa this autumn as the first step to challenging the 21-year old world land speed record. The jet-and-rocket-powered Bloodhound LSR car, which has been 10 years in the building but came within hours of being sent to a breaker’s yard, will begin a series of tests in October, described by the team as a “full dress rehearsal” for record runs currently scheduled for late 2020. This year’s tests will investigate the all-important 400-500mph speed range where, as the car accelerates, control passes from the car’s steered wheels to its aerodynamic surfaces. Testing must be thorough through this phase, Warhurst says, as the team compares actual results with theoretical data. Bloodhound, which last year successfully ran at 200mph at Newquay Airport, will also roll for the first time on its new all-aluminium wheels. Bloodhound will be driven by former RAF fast-jet pilot and current record-holder Wing Commander Andy Green, who back in 1997 became the only person ever to drive a car at supersonic speed on land when he took his Thrust SSC record car to a new mark of 763.035mph. The Grafton LSR crew believe they can achieve 800mph as a first step. The record attempt is scheduled to take place late in 2020, but the team has set no timetable for their other, much tougher objective of achieving 1000mph on land. “We’ve divided our aims into two separate phases,” says Warhurst, owner and CEO of the project’s supporting company, Grafton LSR. “We’ll concentrate on the record first, and when we’ve achieved that, we’ll use the data and knowledge gained to make a judgement about whether to go for the second phase.” The latest Bloodhound tests will take place on a specially prepared 12-mile test track at Hakskeen Pan, Northern Cape, South Africa, which has been specially prepared on a dry lake bed by members of the local Mier community. Working by hand, they have removed more than 16,500 tonnes of stone in preparation for Bloodhound’s runs. Twelve parallel tracks have been laid out, because the car’s unique aluminium wheels — which don’t have tyres because the rotational speed would throw them off the rims — penetrate the track’s hard surface as they run, and “up to 12” runs are planned for this first trip to South Africa. The new Bloodhound ownership team is maintaining its role as at attraction to STEM subjects for school-age students, by making its results and research findings publicly available. “This is the first land speed record attempt of the digital era,” explains Ian Warhurst. “Digital platforms can share data in real time from hundreds of sensors on the car, allowing budding engineers to see exactly how the car is behaving as it dices with physics.” Warhurst is funding the current preparations himself, but is depending on the forthcoming tests to attract new backers, especially title and livery sponsors. For now, the car is painted all white, but the Warhurst believes when it “does something” interested corporate and technical partners, currently waiting in the wings, will come forward. The project has moved from its old base near Bristol and will now be based in new premises in the SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. The car’s new livery – a red fin with a white body – is intended to encourage new investors in the project, which for the first time will offer both title and livery sponsorships. Bloodhound’s original yellow and blue livery, from what they’re now calling the RD phase, will still be used in photographs and videos, the new owners say. Warhurst has established a new company, Grafton LSR Ltd, to run the project. The name is taken from an 1839 painting by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, which now hangs in the Tate Gallery, of a bloodhound called Grafton. Warhurst is joined in the new company by familiar faces including driver Andy Green and chief engineer Mark Chapman, along with many others from the original team “to provide continuity”. The team also now includes commercial director and ex-Formula 1 money man Ewen Honeyman, whose job will be to find new backers for the project. For the time being, Warhurst, who was eight days into his retirement when he heard last December of Bloodhound’s demise by text from his son, will provide “the cashflow to keep the project on track” until extra backers are found. Warhurst recently sold Melett, a turbocharger parts and equipment supplier of which he was the owner and managing director. “I have been overwhelmed by the passion and enthusiasm the public has shown for the project,” said Warhurst. “Over the past decade, an incredible amount of hard graft has been invested in this project. It would be a tragedy to see it go to waste. It’s my ambition to let Bloodhound off the leash and
Origin: Bloodhound land speed record project to test in South Africa
Goodwood Festival of Speed 2019: show report and gallery
They said it would be different for 2019, and it was. Since the Goodwood Festival of Speed began its relentless climb 26 years ago towards today’s status as Europe’s — possibly the world’s — greatest motoring and motorsport festival, this event has faced many calls to keep new interest coming without damaging a much-loved formula – to refresh as well as reassure. The Duke of Richmond and his henchmen usually manage it; this year, they managed it big-time. The major addition was a big arena where the Cathedral Paddock used to be, a new venue for all manner of drifting demos, motorcycle action and stunt driving. The noise and crowds made it obvious that this was an important element the festival had previously lacked – and the spectacular, unruly and deafening appearance of drift cars on the main track, several times a day, advertised their presence. The main track action – from rumbling antiques to tyre-smoking racers, from rally cars to new(ish)-spec Formula 1 cars – was more or less non-stop, including on a streaming wet Sunday morning and early afternoon. Goodwood doesn’t stop for anyone. All the stalwart attractions were there, but there was expansion and improvement for most, such as the First Glance Paddock, whose roll-call of new models has become as important as that of the Supercar Paddock, and an improved, expanded Future Lab to show off our connected, electrified future, much of it being designed in the UK. However, it was the extraordinary roll-call of new car models that really took centre stage this year. Aston Martin had pride of place as the event’s headline sponsor, feted via a typically gigantic Gerry Judah central sculpture that hefted a DBR1 60ft into the air to commemorate the marque’s Goodwood race debut 70 years ago. The place was practically poulticed with new Astons — the Rapide AMR, the electric Rapide E, numerous Zagato variants and, best of all, the mighty £250,000 DBS Superleggera Volante. Other supercar brands were everywhere, Ferrari very prominent with the P80/C track special. Other debuts ideal for the Goodwood scene were Radical’s new road-going Rapture and the rare, harder-core BAC Mono R. Mercedes-AMG had a new, 415bhp A45, Mini was there with its new British-built electric car and Ford had the Puma compact crossover (in which it’s investing much hope) plus the very surprising Ranger Raptor pick-up truck. Mark Webber appeared on the hill in a lightly disguised Porsche Taycan and Honda demonstrated its tiny e prototype at the other end of the electric scale. But carrying the EV gauntlet was the astounding Volkswagen ID R, which broke the hillclimb record that had stood for two decades in near-silence. Of course, there were plenty of anniversaries beyond Aston Martin’s. Goodwood honoured the career of Michael Schumacher by running several of his most successful F1 single-seaters on the hill – and producing team leaders of the time, Jean Todt and Luca di Montezemolo, to lend gravitas. Jackie Stewart’s career was also celebrated, with the champion driving several championship-winning single-seaters himself and watching while others were paraded. A fleet of Pagani Zondas and Huayras was on hand, because it’s now 20 years since the first. And Citroën drew attention to its centenary with the very different, very Citroën 19_19 concept for a comfortable electric touring car. There was much, much more. More stuff than ever that was spectacular and new. Under the circumstances, it was next-to-impossible to choose a star of this remarkable British motor show (which is what it has become), but maybe the new De Tomaso company, now under Hong Kong ownership, aced it with the magnificent-looking P72. For sheer old-school beauty, the De Tomaso stood out from a packed field simply because of a wonderfully balanced, beautifully curvaceous shape considerably at odds with a surrounding field of supercar shapes that seemed chiseled and brutal. It all served to prove, as so many things did over this extraordinary weekend, that cars are still loveable, amazing and awe-inspiring in every form imaginable. If the Goodwood Festival of Speed has one abiding mantra that has so far lasted 26 years, this is it. All our posts and social highlights can be found on the Autocar Twitter, Facebook and Instagram feeds, where we’ve kept all three updated throughout the weekend. All the cars revealed at Goodwood 2019 One of the biggest reasons so many people come to Goodwood every year? The huge list of new models on show, either on static display or being driven flat out up the hillclimb. Here’s a list of everything revealed so far, as well as what’s due to make an appearance across the weekend: Airspeeder flying car Developed by Australian start-up Alauda Racing, the Airspeeder is a vision of what the world’s first flying car race series could look like. The Mk. II Speeder is performing its first public display flights at the Goodwood Aerodrome, while the company’s new
Origin: Goodwood Festival of Speed 2019: show report and gallery
All about car 