Top 10 unmissable cars from the 2017 Goodwood Revival

By Greg MacLeman

| 12 Sep 2017

It seems implausible, yet every year the Goodwood Revival grows in size, stature and significance, drawing the world’s most influential collectors and racers to the Chichester circuit for a three-day festival of historic racing. And the more important the Revival has become, the greater the diversity and quality of the cars that take part.

The 2017 event was a particularly good year for outstanding entries, with old favourites rubbing shoulders with cars never before seen at the circuit. Here’s our top 10 list of unmissable entries from the 2017 Goodwood Revival.

10. Sunbeam Lister Tiger Le Mans Coupé

Just three Le Mans Coupés were ever built, each without the knowledge of Lord Rootes. Michael Squire’s car was known as ‘The Mule’, and was used extensively in the development of its sister cars. The Tiger was fully restored in 2003 and went on to race at Goodwood before returning to La Sarthe in 2014.

9. 1961 Jaguar E-type FHC Cut 7

Three E-types belonging to Dick Protheroe wore the famous CUT 7 moniker, with the first – pictured right – being just the fourth right-hand-drive coupé off the production line. Each of the cars were finished with a blue flash across the nose, thought to be a reference to one of his first race cars, a Bugatti Type 37. The car was raced across the Goodwood weekend by owner Richard Meins and hot shoe Rob Huff.

8. 1936 Frazer Nash Monoposto

Raced in period at Brooklands, Crystal Palace and Donington, Patrick Blakeney-Edwards’ Frazer Nash Monoposto is one of just four of its type, and of two thought to survive. It boasts one of the few remaining original Gough engines built by Frazer Nash between 1934 and 1938, which features twin Centric superchargers and is fed by twin SU carbs.

7. 1960 Scarab-Offenhauser

By the time Scarab launched its assault on the 1960 Formula One World Championship, its four-cylinder Offenhauser-engined racers were nearly obsolete and suffered a number of problems ranging from valve failure to vapour lock and oil starvation. Julian Bronson’s car was used as a spare by the team, and has now been turned into a hugely competitive historic racer boasting 240bhp and prodigious torque. It featured in a tooth-and-nail battle in the Richmond Trophy, eventually losing to Tony Wood’s TecMec Maserati by less than a second.

6. 1928 Frazer Nash Saloon ‘The Owlett’

The Owlett may look slightly incongruous sitting alongside open-wheeled racers in the paddock, but out on track there’s little that can touch the Nash saloon for agility, and it regularly places towards the front of the field and ahead of cars with much bigger engines. A firm crowd favourite.

5. 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster

The brutal Ford GT40 has long been the car to beat in the Whitsun Trophy, but one stands out from the crowd by virtue of its roof – or lack thereof. GT/111 was campaigned and crashed at the Targa Florio, later turning up in London before undergoing a full restoration. It’s a regular fixture at the Revival and always prompts a great response from the crowd.

4. 1963 AC Cobra Le Mans Coupé

Another Goodwood regular is ‘644 CGT’, the 1963 AC Cobra of Shaun Lynn. The car is the first Cobra to race in the UK and was prepared for Le Mans by the Willment Racing Team, though it was used as a spare during the race. It was campaigned extensively in period by Bob Oltoff and features cutaway doors to accommodate the tall driver’s elbows.

3. 1964 Ferrari 250LM

Supplied new by Maranello Concessionaires in 1964, this 250LM was driven to victory in the 12 Hours of Reims by Graham Hill and Joakim Bonnier and to a first place finish in the Scott Brown Trophy by Roy Salvadori. It joined the concours circuit in 1994, winning its class at the International Ferrari Concours in Monterey and coming second in class at Pebble Beach.

2. 1956 Jaguar D-type ‘Longnose’

Three of the original long-nose Jaguar D-types gathered at Goodwood 60 years after Ecurie Ecosse’s second Le Mans victory. They were joined by a number of other cars from the team’s history, including the 1959 Jaguar-engined Tojeiro and an Austin-Healey Sprite.

1. 1964 Ferrari 250GTO

One of Goodwood’s perennial stars is the Ferrari 250GTO ‘APB1’, which is owned and campaigned by renowned collector Lord Bamford. The car’s history began at Goodwood back in the ‘60s, when Mike Parkes drove it to victory at the Members’ Meeting. Its second win at Goodwood came in the Tourist Trophy courtesy of Graham Hill, and it’s been driven hard at the circuit ever since.

Sadly, the car sustained considerable damage at this year’s meeting when it spun backwards into a tyre wall, but it isn’t the first time the car’s picked up a battle scar and it won’t be the last!