Highlights of Goodwood FoS '16

BMW was the subject of Gerry Judah's central sculpture this year featuring three of the German giant's racing greats

Another year ticks by and another fabulous time was spent at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Every year I've attended, West Sussex always seems to be bathed in glorious sunshine. This year was slightly different as heavy showers weren't always far away. Luckily, although there were muddy areas, Goodwood didn't resemble this year's Glastonbury. I was even more grateful that as a car enthusiast, I wasn't stuck in traffic for 10 plus hours as were some music loving festival goers who headed down Somerset way!
The Goodwood festival this year featured the usual comprehensive selection of cars from every era whilst the world of motorsport was represented by thunderous machines from many disciplines entertaining spectators as they shot up the hill.
I did notice however that a number of manufacturers that normally attend Goodwood were absent from proceedings this year including Peugeot, Citroen, Seat and Toyota. Still, the majority of Britain's most popular marques were showing off their latest models in extensive pavilions. The most impressive for me were those erected by Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche and Audi.
Below are some of my highlights from one of the world's best motoring festivals...

The BMW 2002 Hommage concept was a car that stood out in my eyes. Initially shown at this year's Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este, it celebrates the 60th anniversary of the original 2002 Turbo of 1966. Based on the M2, there are no plans to bring it to production...unfortunately

  

 

As usual, the Cartier Style et Luxe featured many eye watering classics in pristine condition, the majority as rare as hen's teeth. This beautiful 1965 A110 cabriolet was among a number of Alpines featured in the class 'Alpine Pass & Present - Dieppe's Definitive Sports Car'. Astonishingly, only 30 A110 Cabriolets were ever made. All eyes are on the future now though as Renault gets ready to launch an all-new Alpine sports car later this year. The Alpine Vision concept is a close to production ready look at what this car will look like...

 

 

I'm a great fan of the latest MX-5 and so it was interesting to see Mazda's new RF variant in the flesh at Goodwood. Like the previous generation Roadster Coupe, the RF features a folding hardtop for added refinement and all-weather appeal. Unlike its predecessor though, the RF features a targa design

 

 

1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV - The Miura is sensational and was one of the pioneers of the 'supercar' sector. Not surprising that its aerodynamic silhouette reminded many of an aeroplane wing. This model took part in the Cartier Style et Luxe and the class 'Gandini's Raging Bulls'

 

Mercedes-AMG GT R - The new GT range topper. The R features a 577bhp twin-turbocharged 4.0 litre V8 engine that'll catapult it from 0-62mph in 3.6secs

 

The BMW 507 is one of the Bavarian maker's most desirable models built between 1956 and 1959. Notable owners included Elvis Presley. As this year's featured marque, BMW were well represented at Goodwood

 

And finally I couldn't help but take a snap of the Ferrari 488 Spider, looking particularly sharp in this blue