With the London Motor Show long gone from the show schedule, Britain’s premier automotive event is now the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
For three days Goodwood stuck to the same program: an eclectic mix of cars and drivers running up the hill with several historic celebration parades inbetween.
Naturally many of the best British cars were present so we have assembled some of the photos and videos from the event.
Probably the most famous of all Mini Coopers, 33EJB which the Irish Hero Paddy Hopkirk used to win the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally.
Chassis HM2868 is one of three works Bentley Speed Sixes. Built in 1930 on a 11-foot chassis, HM2868 won the 1930 Brooklands 24 hour race with Barnato and Clement driving. The same car was used at Le Mans and placed second.
Before Jaguar started to produce the D-Type, a small group of pre-production cars were made starting with the prototype chassis XKC401. This car became the testbed for the new ideas that Malcom Sayer and others would implement into their already winning C-Type design. Our feature car also has the distinction of remaining in largely original condition and is easily spotted by its long-time OVC501.
The GT3 racing version of Bentley’s Continental GT is racing the 2014 season as an all-new racecar.
This Pastel Green C-Type was raced by Stirling Moss in 1952 then continued an extensive career with Michael Head.
One of the pride and joys of British motoring was and still is this curious looking 1934 Napier-Railton. The nation’s love for this car enabled the BDRC to secure 800 000 GBP by donation to keep it as a permanent fixture in the Brooklands Museum. This is easily the most fitting home since the Napier-Railton holds the Outer Circuit lap record of 143.44mph at Brooklands which was the center of British motoring before the war. In a sense, this is the ‘Ultimate Brooklands Racecar’.
Well there isn’t explicitly a “Best of Show” listed for the Vancouver ABFM, but Colin Fitzgerald’s 1938 MG VA Tickford Drop Head Coupé won the award for best restoration over $100,000CAD which is the top category at this event.
The MG VA is a somewhat rare model being the smallest of three chassis available with Roadster, Coupe or Tickford Drop Head Coupé bodies.
Colin’s car is chassis 1520 and it was originally sold by University Motors in London. Afterward it spent a good portion of its life in Cannes before coming to Los Angeles in 1968.
Colin acquired 1520 in 2002 and spent ten years restoring it back to its original colors. The entire body was nearly rust-free requiring only a single small patch. Furthermore Colin says getting the dashboard details just right took considerable time.
The result is a stunning showpiece that is likely the best restored VA in the world.
This year we had to make the annual pilgrimage to the Vancouver ABFM at the VanDusen Botanical Garden.
And the show was an absolute blast. We offered our customer’s Austin Healey 100-Six for inclusion into the For Sale corral and also took some moments to see what else was on offer.
Despite the threat of 1mm of rain, the day was completely dry and full of BC’s best cars.
Colin Fitzgerald basically won Best of Show with his 1938 MG VA Tickford Drop Head Coupé by taking best restoration over $100,000 CAD.
Other notable cars included a 1934 Aston Martin Ulster from John Fairclough, a 1912 Rolls-Royce boattail from David Cohen and the 1934 Aston Martin 1½-Litre Mark II Bertelli Sport Sedan from Robert Follows.
