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The Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018 is now on.
An event on the eve of the start of the event on Wednesday evening did not disappoint – even England’s loss in the semi-final of the World Cup in Russia did not dampen spirits. The latest in a long line of amazing sculptures was unveiled in the night skies, this year featuring Porsche.
Porsche is celebrating 70 years since it first produced the 356 sports car in 1948. The 356 was the company’s first production car, and with 76,000 produced until 1965, it put the company onto the path of greatness. The sculpture, once more produced by British artist and designer Gerry Judah, marks out several of the most important cars in Porsche’s life, including the 911, the 959 Group B rally car, and of course the original 356.
For 21 years Judah has been creating awe-inspiring sculptures as the focal point of the annual event, which has become Britain’s major motor show of the year. The first structure back in 1997 was impressive, but since then the bar (along with the sculptures) has been raised ever higher, with some astonishing feats of engineering being unveiled in Lord March’s front garden. Here are the highlights:
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1997 (Ferrari)
It may have seemed majestic, looking like the Arc de Triomphe installed in front of Goodwood House, but the first ever sculpture would soon look rather tame compared with what was to come. Created to mark 50 years of Ferrari, the brick arch within an Italian garden featured a F310B, hanging nose down, while on top of the arch was a huge prancing horse. Subtle.
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1998 (Porsche)
In 1998 it was Porsche's turn to celebrate half a century of car production, with an artwork very different from Ferrari's. Instead of just one car on display there were now five of them, including the legendary 917/20 'Pink Pig', another 917, a pair of 936s and a 911 GT1.
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1999 (Audi)
One of our favourites, the Audi construction from 1999 was kitted out with the gorgeous Avus concept from 1991 along with an even more gorgeous Auto Union Type C Streamliner. The latter may have been a replica but that didn't matter; mounted on a structure that depicted the banking of the Avus racing track it looked simply stunning.
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2000 (Jaguar)
Jaguar launched into Formula One in 2000 and to make sure everybody knew about it, the British company created a cat's cradle that incorporated half a dozen iconic Jag racers of yesteryear: C-Type, D-Type, E-Type, XK120 and a brace of XJRs.
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2001 (Mercedes-Benz)
When Mercedes celebrated its centenary in 2001 it knew exactly how to mark the occasion - by commissioning Gerry Judah to come up with something really spectacular. The car within the sculpture, a 300SL Gullwing, was positioned to look as though it was at the top of a gush of liquid, falling and spreading as it hit the ground. This was the first sculpture designed to be even more impressive after dark, with some fabulous lighting effects.
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2002 (Renault)
When Renault returned to F1 in 2002 it wheeled out some of its previous greats. Clearly unable to thin out the shortlist it just went with them all, so in total there were seven on show: RS01, RE40, RE60, Williams FW14 and FW18, Benetton B195 and Renault R202.
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2003 (Ford)
In 2003 it was Ford's turn to celebrate 100 years of existence with Judah's greatest sculpture yet. Ford has plenty within its history to draw upon, but understandably opted for something that crowed about its 1-2-3 finish in the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours with a trio of GT40s. The cars on show weren't the ones that won, but who cared when the artwork looked this good?
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2004 (Rolls-Royce)
The centenaries were coming thick and fast at the turn of this century, with Rolls-Royce marking its own 100 years in 2004. Its sculpture demonstrated the company's supremacy on land, in the air and on water too. To that end the machinery on display encompassed a Supermarine S6, Campbell-Railton Blue Bird and the Bluebird K4.
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2005 (Honda)
When Honda returned to F1 in 2005, it repeated Renault's trick by sticking half a dozen cars on stalks, to show that it was no newcomer to top-flight motorsport. While three of the cars were the original racers, the other three were replicas, built because the originals were taking part in the track action over the weekend. That's dedication for you.
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2006 (Renault)
Just four years after taking the central sculpture slot Renault was back again, this time to promote its centenary of Grand Prix racing. More impressive when lit up after dark than in natural light, uniquely the sculpture didn't feature any cars at all; instead it shielded them from the elements as they sat below.
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2007 (Toyota)
Toyota had two big anniversaries to celebrate in 2007: 75 years of existence and 50 years of taking part in motor sport. Its sculpture was designed to look like torii gates, as found at the entrance to a Shinto shrine, from which five landmark cars were hung: TS010, Celica GT-Four, TF107, GT-One and Lola B2/00.
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2008 (Land Rover)
Land Rover doesn't have any motorsport heritage to draw upon, so to mark its diamond anniversary it instead went large with its off-roading credentials. The result was a structure intended to emulate a massive boulder, over which a Freelander, Discovery, Range Rover and Defender were crawling. The reality was more impressive than the pictures suggest.
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2009 (Audi)
One of the most impressive structures yet, Audi's centenary structure weighed 40 tonnes but was free-standing. Its purpose was to chart Audi's first century using just two cars on one piece of road; a 1937 Streamliner and the latest R8 V10.
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2010 (Alfa Romeo)
Yet another century of car production being marked in 2010; that of Alfa Romeo which used a cloverleaf-shaped structure to show off greats old and new: a 1925 P2 and an 8C Competizione from 2003.
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2011 (Jaguar)
Few cars have a higher profile than the Jaguar E-Type, so when it notched up its golden jubilee this homage to it was erected in front of Goodwood House. For the first time ever, in place of any real cars there was this 150-metre high representation made from 150 tonnes of steel - all supplied by Jaguar's parent company Tata.
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2012 (Lotus)
For many people, us included, Lotus's 2012 sculpture is the best yet. A never-ending and winding road, the display took in four F1 greats: 49, 79, 99T and E20. At the time, Lotus wasn't getting much positive press and some wondered whether the sculpture would ever be built but it was - and we're still waiting for it to be beaten.
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2013 (Porsche)
The highest installation yet at 34 metres, Porsche put three 911s at the top of its 2013 structure to mark 50 years of the legendary flat-six sports car. As well as an early 911 there was the latest 911 edition along with one of the most desirable and collectible - a 1973 Carrera RS 2.7.
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2014 (Mercedes-Benz)
Confusingly, Mercedes celebrated its centenary in 2001 but Mercedes-Benz notched up 120 years of motorsport in 2014. To mark the occasion it commissioned the most ambitious sculpture yet, which arched over Goodwood House and featured a 1934 Silver Arrow along with a 2013 F1 W04.
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2015 (Mazda)
A really eye-catching structure on account of its double-helix design, Mazda displayed the 787B that won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991, along with its virtual successor, the LM55 Gran Turismo. Seemingly less complicated than many of the structures that had gone before, Mazda's effort is still one of our favourites.
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2016 (BMW)
It took BMW almost two decades to get the central sculpture gig, but the German company aced it when it commissioned this structure in 2016 to promote its rich racing history. It consisted of three huge blades of steel, on which were mounted a 328 Mille Miglia Roadster, a BT52 and the 1999 Le Mans-winning LMR.
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2017 (Bernie Ecclestone)
For the first time ever, in 2017 no car marque was commemorated on the sculpture - instead it celebrated the work of F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. Each of the five cars depicted a different era in his five-decade F1 involvement as a driver, manager and team owner.
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