Our Top 10 cars from the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021 Concours

The Goodwood Festival of Speed: The Cartier Style Et Luxe Concours always has some of the very best cars on display and 2021 was no different. I’d guess there were 20-30 cars on display. The Cartier Style et Luxe lawn featured a highly diverse selection of cars, from a number of Hispanso Suizas from the 1920s to a Pagani Huayra almost a hundred years their junior.

The judging panel comprised of 13 people from the worlds of art, design, sport or media. They included renowned car designer Gordon Murray, model and presenter Jodie Kidd, the Earl of Snowdon, industrial designer Marc Newson and Extreme E competitor Catie Munnings.

Here are the top 10 cars that caught my attention the most, did I agree with the judging panel? I have placed the cars in the order of which I would most like to own/ drive. See what you think. What’s your favourite car? There are some beauties here…

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe

What a beautiful car. Love these. Automotive art at it’s best.

Mercedes-Benz shocked the motoring world when it revealed its 1952 Le Mans winning racer, but now iconic 300 SL ‘Gullwing’. With revolutionary doors that hinge at the centre of the car’s roof, the 300SL’s pioneering upwards-opening ‘gullwing’ doors were created as a solution to the Mercedes’ lightweight spaceframe chassis, which required deep sills for added strength. The worlds fastest production car at launch, the 150 mph 300SL was an exceptional vehicle, employing all around independent suspension and engagingly simple, wind-cheating shape. The present custodian acquired this one-owner 300SL as a non-runner in 1996 with only 22,000 recorded miles. It was re-commissioned extensively, and is now used regularly, including visits to almost every Goodwood Revival.

.

2020 Pagani Huayra 760VR

Wow. Would so love to drive this.

Given the impact it has made on the hypercar scene it is easy to forget that Pagani first entered the fray a little over 20 years ago with his Zonda C12. Originally intended to be named the ‘Fangio F1’ after the Maestro Juan Manuel Fangio, plans were changed following his death and the car given the name of the wind from his home country of Argentina. The Zonda was succeeded by the Huayra in 2012 and strictly limited to 100 examples due to the supply of twin-turb charged V12 engines from Mercedes-AMG. Like its predecessor a handful of bespoke cars were commissioned, each one unique in its specification.

This Huayra follows on from an earlier Zonda 760VR Roadster.

.

1970 De Tomaso Pantera

Super cool. Something different.

Alejandro de Tomaso’s ambitions to take a seat at the top table of elite Italian supercar makers took a serious step forward when he first revealed his wedge-shaped Pantera in 1970. Taking inspiration from Ford’s GT40, De Tomaso adopted a similar concept by using a lusty American V8 engine in an Italian mid-engine platform. Using a 330bhp 5.8-litre Ford ‘Cleveland’ V8 motor the Pantera provided blistering performance with 150 mph potential and a 5.5-second 0-60 time. This early ‘push button’ model with its rare round door handles was hand-built at Carrozzeria Vignale in Turin, has covered just 14,800 miles from new and was subject to a full bare metal restoration in the late 1990s. Noted Pantera owners included Elvis Presley, who famously once shot at his model when it failed to start.

Who doesn’t love a wedge? The form ruled dominated sports and supercar styling in the 1970s, and marques represented at the concours included  De Tomaso, Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia, Lamborghini and Lotus. The iconic Countach, displayed in its purest early form, took class honours.

.

1961 Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Series 1 Roadster

Iconic. Lovely shape. Lovely car. I desire one very much.

Regarded as one of the most significant and attractive sports cars ever, an enticing soft-top roadster shared the limelight with its coupe sibling at the 1961 Geneva Salon, both incarnations instantly capturing the public’s imagination. Jaguar built just 943 right-hand-drive E-type 3.8 roadsters, the first 92 of which featured the same outside bonnet latches (OBL) as the cars exhibited at Geneva. The OBL Jaguars served not only as prototypes for the entire E-type production run, but also helped pave the way for the E-type racers, this example being the 88th right-hand-drive model built on 21 July 1961. Finished in its original dark Opalescent Blue coachwork over a light blue interior, this is one of just five early examples finished in this striking colour combination.

.

1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dual Cowell Tourer

Love these old cars. Just completely different to the cars of today. Beautiful.

First introduced in 1919, DH6B is powered by and in line six–cylinder overhead camshaft motor, incorporating elements of its World War 1 aluminium V8 aircraft engine. This particular Hispano-Suiza, the H6 B Dual Cowl Twin–cockpit open Tourer, with English coach work by Bligh Brothers, is unique for a number of reasons. Firstly, this attractive example was originally built for count Louis Zborowski – the famous Kent–born 1920s racing driver. Secondly, it’s dual cowl arrangement with rear deck, equipped with a second V-shaped windscreen and rear instruments, bespoke tool boxes and rear trunk incorporating fitted luggage. Part of the Earl of Moray’s famous Doune Collection for over 30 years, this car was recently restored under the supervision of Zürich-based Lucas Huni AG.

.

1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400’Periscopo’

How nuts must this have been to see in the 70s? Still pretty bonkers now.

Introduced to replace the Miura, the Countach pioneered the extreme wedge, cabin-forward layout that would quickly become de rigeur for ultimate high-performance supercars. The LP400 retained the Miura’s 4.0-litre VI2, mounted longitudinally behind the driver to give a 175mph top speed. From 1978, tweaking gave the Countach a more aggressive look, with wide wheel arch extensions, a huge rear wing, a chin spoiler and wider alloy wheels. This ‘Periscopo’ is one of only ten right-hand-drive cars made, out of a total of 150 produced between 1974 and 1977. Delivered new in May 1975, the price was £18,295.00, ten times that of a new MGB. These early examples are the purest and closest to the original 1971 show car, with the Countach name derived from the local Piedmontese dialect exclamation for “Heavens”

.

1929 Hispano-Suiza H6B Galle Twin Cockpit Boat Tail Torpedo Sport

What a beautiful car. Love it.

This extraordinary H6B Gale Twin cockpit boat tail torpedo sport, chassis number 12161 has unique coachwork by Dubos of Neilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. It features a one off execution of the original Galle prototype design with twin cockpit and two V-shape windscreens. The cars long-term ownership history is outstanding, originally delivered to Monsieur Lambiotte,tthen owned by the Noble Escoffier family in Paris until the 1970s, then many years in the collection of Michel and Nicolas Seydoux in Paris, and lastly in the Gonzalez collection. Largely original and unrestored, extensive maintenance and recommissioning work was carried out by the foremost British authority Arthur Archer. The performance of 12161 is outstanding; at the 2000 Pebble Beach Concours it was the award it the winner of the boattail class.

Five cars formed the Hispano Suiza class, ranging from 1921 to 1929. For the judges, one car stood out head and shoulders above the other. The distinctive 1929 H6B Galle Twin Cockpit Boattail Torpedo Sport was the car to claim class honours.

.

1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale

Another iconic car I’d love to drive. Must be exhilarating to drive I’d imagine.

Styled and built by Bertone, the Stratos was developed specifically for rallying, replacing the successful, but aging Fulvia V4 coupe. Unveiled a year before its competition debut in 1972, the Stratos was fitted with a mid-mounted 2.4-litre Ferrari Dino V6 engine, developing 188 bhp for a 144mph top speed. To qualify for competition, Lancia had to build 500 examples, something it never quite achieved with 492 cars created, but this didn’t stop them dominating the World Rally Championship in the mid-1970s. This road-going Stratos Stradale is finished in original Azzurro colour and was purchased new by Armond Giglio, long-term president of the Lancia Owners Club of America. Recently acquired by its third owner, this original example is one of the best in existence.

As well as class winners, one car at Style et Luxe always takes the overall honours. For 2021’s event, it was the delectable 1974 Lancia Stratos that claimed the overall prize. It’s owned by industrial designer Marc Newson, who was excluded from the judging in this class, and has recently undergone a restoration to make it quite possibly the best road-going Stratos in the world.

.

1974 Ferrari 365 GT/4 BB

Beautiful. Looks great in black.

The Ferrari 365 GT/4 BB (Berlinetta Boxer) replaced the iconic front-engined 365 GTB/4 Daytona in 1973 having first being shown by its designer Pininfarina in concept form at the 1971 Turin Motor Show. The mid-engined BB was the first in a series of Ferraris to use a boxer-type 12-cylinder motor, derived from Maranello’s Formula 1 unit,and mid-mounted in a tubular steel spaceframe chassis, reinforced by the addition of integral steel panels around the cockpit section, making it a monocoque construction. This UK-specification example was ordered new at the London Earl’s Court Motor Show and is in original condition with just 45,000 miles on the clock, having benefitted from regular maintenance and a bare metal respray.

.

1976 Lotus Esprit S1

It’s just a car that grabs my attention due to James Bond. Love it.

The wedged Esprit became the mid-engined halo sports car in Colin Chapman’s reinvented and more upmarket three model range (positioned above the new Elite GT and Eclat fastback coupe). First shown in non-running prototype form at the 1972 Turin Salon, the Esprit concept won many plaudits and was quickly engineered into production. This Esprit is an early Series 1 example that was manufactured in October 1976, retaining its period white paintwork with bold tartan interior trim. Mr.Hackford bought the car as a barn find in 2014 and undertook an eight month nut and bolt restoration. This widely-known Lotus is believed to have been exhibited at the premiere of ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ at the Lincoln Odeon in 1977 and was used to chauffeur ‘Q’ actor Desmond Llewelyn to the event.

.

So there you have our top 10 cars from the Goodwood Festival of Speed: The Cartier Style Et Luxe Concours. If you’d have been on the judging panel, which car would have got your vote?