List,
I just returned from an assignment in the UK and
wanted to share an automotive event that I attended
with you (read: gloat :-)
A coworker in Surrey, UK knows I am a British car fan
and asked me if I wanted to watch some old cars drive
up a hill. Interesting description, that.
I had already done the tourist thing in London a few
weeks before (and, as Paul Hunt aply described it, the
great unwashed were expressing their dislike of
capitalism in London that Friday and being generally
unruly). It seemed like a good time to get out of
Dodge, so I said Ok.
We packed the cooler with pork pies(?), scotch eggs,
Newcastle Brown Ale and the obligatory botttle of
Pimms and set off early Saturday morning under
glorious sunshine...
Destination: The 1999 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
A Millemium of Horsepower
(I figured with a name like that, it must be good.
That, and the 20 quid it cost me for a ticket($33)!
List friends, if there is an Automotive Heaven, it
cannot be far from this. Literally thousands of old
British cars in the parking fields alone! MGs, Jags, Triumphs, TVRs,
Morgans, Rovers, Loti, Rolls, Bentleys
as far as the eye could see.
The show itself was even better, with hundreds of cars-
new and old alike tearing around the hillclimb circuit.
All piloted by legendary drivers: Stirling Moss, Jack
Brabham, Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, Colin McRae,
Emmerson Fittipaldi, the list goes on.
The cars spanned over 100 years from the late 1890's
to the 1998 McLaren/Mercedes. There was even an RAF
Tornado buzzing around overhead.
These cars are gorgeous to look at, but watching
these magnificant beasts in action on the circuit was
an awesome experience. It will be a very long time
before I forget the sound of an Aston Martin DBR1
screaming past no more than 10 feet away (okay, maybe
20 feet :-)
I caught a works-prepared MGA twincam coupe doing its
thing and if I can figure out how to upload the video
to the web, I'll post the footage.
Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz all
had their latest offerings on display, including the
Mercedes CLK-GTR road car. Price you ask? A cool
$1.65 million- service package not included. Ouch.
Sadly, about the only thing within my budget were the
Old Speckled Hen/MG ashtrays I found at the swapmeet.
Still, it was a great day.
Coverage of the 3-day event airs on Speedvision July
25 at 8PM ET if you are interested.
Photos (not mine) at:
http://www.ombomb.com/resources/Goodwood99/Paddock/GW99_Paddock1.html
--Scott
===
Scott Hower -> howersl@yahoo.com
|