Great Britain. Goodwood is honouring one of the world’s most iconic sports car manufacturers – Porsche – with the main Central Feature at the 2018 Festival of Speed from 12-15 July.
In a star-studded celebration in support of the 70th anniversary of the production of the first car to bear the famous German name in 1948, many examples of road and race cars from throughout the seven decades will be on show and participate in demonstration runs up the famous Goodwood Hill climb course. In most cases, Porsche motor sport personalities from the past and present will be behind the wheel, underlining the unique family spirit that still imbues the company to this day.
The world-renowned Porsche Museum has gathered together a stunning line-up of seven icons from its collection in Stuttgart which will take visitors on a visual journey through the evolution of the sports car. To lead this procession, the Museum is sending a very special, original Porsche to Goodwood. The 356 ‘No.1’ Roadster, which received its operating permit on 8 June, 1948, makes its debut appearance in the UK at the Festival of Speed. As the first ever Porsche sports car, it holds a special place in the company history.
Owners and enthusiasts alike will detect the very early origins of what could be described as the Porsche DNA in this car: most notably, a mid-engine layout, a ‘boxer’ engine design, a two-seat layout, and a lightweight construction to ensure the highest possible performance and efficiency.
This remarkable car will be joined by successive examples of highlight Porsche sports cars in a daily parade up the Goodwood Hill:
1964 911 – the 57th example ever built and the oldest example of the iconic coupe owned by the Museum.
1973 911 Carrera RS – the original RS (for RennSport, or racing) 911 and the originator of the RS legend that personifies the track to road technology transfer ethos of Porsche.
1987 959 – one of the original supercars, with a twin-turbo flat-six rear-mounted engine driving all four wheels via an advanced transmission system and adaptive suspension.
1997 ‘Type 993’ 911 Turbo – featuring a twin-turbo flat-six engine with 400 hp, the ‘Type 993’ generation 911 ushered in a new era of all-wheel drive 911 Turbo performance.
2003 Carrera GT – over the years, Porsche has built the super sports car of its generation and with its race-derived V10 engine and carbon fibre chassis, the Carrera GT still sets a benchmark for its intense driving experience.
2015 918 Spyder – the car that arguably did more to prove hybrid power could deliver astonishing performance as well as high efficiency, the 918 Spyder combined a 608 hp V8 petrol engine with 286 hp from two electric motors to raise the super car standard to new heights.
Further Museum treasures will guide visitors through the highlights of 70 years of Porsche sports cars on the race track as they take to the Hill in daily demonstrations.
1962 804 – in July 1962, Dan Gurney won the French GP in this car. Weighing 461 kg, this characteristically lightweight single-seater with a 185 hp flat-eight engine was the only Formula One race car developed and built entirely by Porsche.
1974 911 Carrera RSR Turbo – the 500 hp RSR was the first 911 with turbocharger technology, and led to the development of the 911 Turbo road car. This car finished in a remarkable second place at Le Mans in 1974. Driver Gijs van Lennep (NL) will be reunited with the car at Goodwood.
1978 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’ – the first Porsche race car with water-cooled cylinder heads, this 845 hp development of the 911-based 935 race car only raced twice, at Silverstone and Le Mans, but its distinctive aerodynamic design (and resulting moniker) has ensured it has been a fan favourite ever since.
1984 911 SC ‘Paris Dakar’ – the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally followed a gruelling route through Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mauritania. A test bed for future road and race car technology, the 911 SC went on to win its class.
1986 961 – the only permanent all-wheel drive Porsche to ever start at Le Mans, the 961 was derived from the 959. Intended as an intense test for the twin-turbo engine with water-cooled four-valve cylinder heads, the car won its class in the 24 Hour race.
1987 962 – between 1982 and 1994, Porsche sports cars of the 956/962 type win Le Mans seven times and becomes a motorsport legend in its own right. This chassis was raced to victory in Le Mans in 1987, and Derek Bell (GB), who took the win that year with Hans Stuck and Al Holbert, will be united with the car once again at Goodwood.
1988 2708 Indycar – the first single seat Porsche since the 804 of 1962, the 2708 was built for the US CART Championship, including the Indianapolis 500. Powered by a 2.65 litre V8, turbocharged engine developing 750 hp, this American Porsche adventure tasted success with Teo Fabi at Mid-Ohio in 1989, but at the end of the 1990 season the company withdrew from the CART series.
1994 Dauer 962 GT Le Mans – Porsche entered the new GT1 class at Le Mans with the road-approved ‘Dauer 962’. Built by Porsche, the car entered the 24 Hours race with the Joest Team and went on to win the race outright.
1998 GT1 ’98 – the GT1 ’98 was the first Porsche racing car with a carbon fibre chassis, and the company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998 with a Le Mans win.
2000 LMP 2000 – the first time shown in public, the LMP 2000 was the successor to the GT1 ’98 and paired a carbon fibre chassis design with a V10 engine. Regulation changes saw the programme cancelled, but the technology continued in the form of the Carrera GT road car.
2007 RS Spyder – winning its first race at the end of 2005, over the following three years the open-top sports car won all four championship titles for driver, team, chassis and engine rankings for its class in the American Le Mans Series. And the normally-aspirated V8 engine enjoyed further renown as the basis for that used in the 918 Spyder Hybrid super sports car.
919 Hybrid Tribute Tour
The undoubted hero of the assembled Porsche cars will be the phenomenal 919 Hybrid Evo. Barely two weeks ago, Porsche factory race driver, Timo Bernhard (D), beat the 35 year lap record around the Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit in Germany, behind the wheel of this ultimate sports car.
Timo set a lap of 5 min 19.55 secs, at an average speed of 145.3 mph (233.8 km/h), around what is revered by race drivers, engineers and enthusiasts alike as the world’s most difficult track. Driving the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo, he beat the previous lap record set by German legend, Stefan Bellof, in a Porsche 956 C in 1983, by 51.58 secs.
The 919 Hybrid Evo is a development of the Le Mans prototype that took outright victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours and won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Over the winter, it was freed from some restrictions hitherto determined by the formal motor sport regulations. Thus, its hybrid powertrain now develops 1160 hp, the overall weight is just 849 kg and its modified (now active) aerodynamic design generates over 50 per cent more downforce compared to the WEC model. Top speed at the Nürburgring was 229.5 mph (369.4 km/h)
In its tribute tour, the 919 Hybrid Evo already set a new benchmark at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium earlier in April. Swiss driver Neel Jani – Le Mans winner and World Endurance Champion for Porsche in 2016 – set a lap of 1 min 41.77 secs around the 4.35 mile (7 km) Grand Prix circuit to top the previous track record set by Mercedes GP driver Lewis Hamilton in 2017, by 0.783 secs.
Neel Jani will be demonstrating the 919 Hybrid Evo at Goodwood during the Festival of Speed.
The Porsche tradition of success in the Le Mans 24 Hours will be further celebrated at the Festival of Speed by the demonstration of the winner of the GTE-Pro category of the 2018 race – the factory Porsche 911 RSR ‘Pink Pig’. Factory drivers Kévin Estre (F) and Laurens Vanthoor (B) fresh from that thrilling French victory in the evocatively liveried car inspired by a famous 1970s Porsche 917 racer, will be driving at Goodwood.
And completing the Porsche Motorsport pyramid will be the latest 911 GT3 Cup race car from the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Characterised by a very close relationship to the 911 GT3, the GT3 Cup race car shares its 4.0-litre flat-six engine with the street car. It will be piloted at Goodwood by 2018/2019 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior race driver, 17-year old Dan Harper (Hillsborough, Northern Ireland).
Latest Porsche sports cars in action
The Supercar Run is a prime attraction at the Festival of Speed, showcasing the fastest and most exclusive road-going sports cars. The highlight here is the 911 Speedster Concept, a road-ready study of an open-top sports car. It forges a link between the very first Porsche 356 ‘No.1’ Roadster, and the Porsche cars of today. With its pure design concept, the 911 Speedster Concept reflects not just the brand essence of Porsche with precise clarity, but also underlines the passion and enthusiasm for sports car driving that defines the company.
The track to road technology transfer principle at Porsche sees developments proven on the race circuit brought to the street for everyday enjoyment. The latest 911 GT3 RS shares its high-revving, normally-aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six engine technology with the 911 Carrera Cup and RSR race cars, and the chassis dynamics are also clearly honed on the track.
As the most powerful 911 ever, the 911 GT2 RS takes this concept to another level with a twin turbocharged, 3.8-litre flat-six engine offering 700 hp and the capability to lap the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in Germany in 6 min 47 secs.
In the First Glance category, the latest 718 Cayman GTS is featured. With a mid-mounted, flat-four ‘boxer’ engine, the spiritual link to the very first Porsche sports cars is clear – yet the latest turbocharging technology delivers very contemporary levels of performance and efficiency.
The inclusiveness of the latest Porsche models is underlined with the debut of the latest Cayenne Turbo, which offers a sports car experience for five – powered by a 550 hp twin-turbo V8.
Dynamic Cayenne demonstrations at the Porsche Experience Centre Goodwood
With a sporting, driver-oriented chassis, the Porsche Cayenne has been designed to combine sports car handling with the added versatility of being able to cover ground quickly, whatever the terrain.
Visitors to the Festival of Speed will be able to experience the power of this most versatile Porsche sports car personally courtesy of Driving Consultants from the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone, who will be demonstrating the performance and handling of the Cayenne on a specially-designed dynamics course laid out around the Porsche Experience Centre at Goodwood.
Mission:Future Sportscar
Visitors will also be able to catch a glimpse of the future of Porsche sports cars, with the display of the 2015 Mission E concept car, on the Porsche Experience Centre stand. The Mission E concept car celebrated its premiere at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) in September 2015, and received the green light for production shortly after. Living up to its sporting spirit of ‘E-Performance’, the technological trailblazer combines outstanding driving performance with trendsetting day-to-day practicality.
It was announced on 8 June that the production version of the new battery electric sports car will be named Taycan, ahead of its launch by the end of the decade. The four-door has two permanently excited synchronous electric motors with a system power output of over 600 hp (440 kW). The car will thus achieve both acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in well under 3.5 seconds and to 200 km/h in under 12 seconds. A range of more than 500 kilometres in accordance with the NEDC will be possible. The lithium-ion batteries integrated within the vehicle floor have enough power for 80 per cent of the range after just 15 minutes of charging, via the system voltage of 800 V, via a 350 kW fast-charging network.
25 years of the Goodwood Festival of Speed
Marking the 70th anniversary of Porsche sports cars at Goodwood is hugely appropriate in the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Speed. To date, the legendary marque has featured at every single Goodwood Festival, from the first event in 1993 – when an unexpectedly high 27,500 enthusiasts turned up – to the near 200,000 visitors that attend the world’s greatest celebration of car culture last year.
Whether in action in road or race form on the testing 1.16 mile Goodwood Hill, sliding sideways around the gravel Forest Rally Stage, sitting serenely on the Cartier Style et Luxe Concours Lawn, or as part of the regular demonstration and displays, Porsche has played a key role in helping put the Festival of Speed on the map over the past quarter century.
‘70 years Porsche sportscar’ – special exhibition and numerous activities
In a special exhibition at the Porsche Museum, the company is now showcasing numerous stories and milestones with which Porsche has decisively influenced the development of the sports car since 1948 and continues to do so today. Its aim is to highlight outstanding Porsche developments over the past seven decades.
The sports car manufacturer is also celebrating this anniversary with numerous activities around the world throughout 2018. In addition to the Festival of Speed, the Rennsport Reunion in California from September 27–30 is a further significant highlight occasion honouring the anniversary. The celebrations will conclude with the ‘Sound Night’ event which will be held for the first time in the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart on October 13.
