Five Hot Cars at the Goodwood Festival...
The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed hosted drew the crowds and the hottest cars on the planet.
Last weekend was the running of the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed. Given the presence of 150,000 visitors over the course of the three days it is unsurprising that the car manufacturers were clambering over each other to show off their latest wares. Here's the hottest five.
THIS REALLY IS A ROAD CAR
Caparo T1
You may not have heard of the Caparo Vehicle Technologies engineering consultancy, but the Caparo name was on everybody's lips come the end of the Goodwood Festival of Speed weekend this year thanks to the first UK outing for the T1 supercar, in prototype form.
As its outrageous styling suggests, the T1 is a bit of a race track refugee, with bodywork styled for functionality about aesthetics, though we think it looks fantastic. Caparo has designed this showcase of its talents to be a track day special first, but it will be road legal when it eventually goes on sale.
Around £165,000 will buy you the T1, which promises modern F1 car performance and dynamics, including 0-60mph in only 2.5 seconds. Like the latest F1 cars, the T1 uses a 2.4-litre V8, though supercharged and with a lower rev limit for reliability. Caparo is aiming for the T1 to be the world's first production car to exceed 1000bhp-per-tonne and it should be seen in action at next year's Festival of Speed.
DEVIL IN MILD DISGUISE
LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO LP640
IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN A LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO THEN YOU'LL PROBABLY HAVE NOTICED A SMALL CROWD OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET A CLOSER LOOK AT ONE OF THE MOST ARRESTING MODERN SUPER CAR SHAPES. LAMBORGHINI HAS GONE ONE BETTER WITH THE NEW LP640 VERSION, ORIGINALLY REVEALED AT THE 2006 GENEVA MOTOR SHOW AND MAKING ITS UK DEBUT AT THE GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED.
PACKING A 6.5-LITRE V12 ENGINE, THE LP640 NAME REFERS TO THE MAXIMUM POWER VALUE OF 640BHP. LAMBORGHINI CLAIMS THAT THIS MURCIELAGO WILL REACH 62MPH FROM ZERO IN JUST 3.4 SECONDS THANKS TO THE TRACTION AFFORDED BY ITS FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM. SPECTATORS AT GOODWOOD THIS YEAR WITNESSED THE LP640 BEING DRIVEN UP THE FAMOUS GOODWOOD HILL BY NONE OTHER THAN VALENTINO BALBONI, LAMBORGHINI'S FACTORY TEST DRIVER.
HISTORY WAS MADE
AUDI R10 V12 TDI
TO SAY THAT THE AUDI R10 RACECAR IS 'FRESH' FROM ITS VICTORY AT LE MANS WOULD BE INACCURATE; NOT MANY CARS COULD BE CONSIDERED FRESH HAVING COMPETED IN THE INFAMOUS 24-HOUR RACE. AUDI'S NEW DIESEL-POWERED RACER STARTED FROM POLE-POSITION, LED EVERY LAP, SET THE FASTEST RACE LAP AND ALSO SET A NEW RACE DISTANCE RECORD IN ONLY THE CAR'S SECOND EVER RACE (IT WON ITS FIRST AS WELL...).
THOUGH SCOTSMAN ALLAN MCNISH FINISHED IN THIRD PLACE IN THE SECOND R10, HE IS A FAVOURITE WITH THE BRITISH CROWD IN GOODWOOD SO HE KEPT THE FANS ENTERTAINED. NOT ONLY WAS THE STATE OF THE ART DIESEL RACER ON DISPLAY, MCNISH WAS LET LOOSE IN THE SEVENTY YEAR OLD AUTO UNION C-TYPE, A CAR DESIGNED WITH NO THOUGHTS ABOUT SAFETY. ITS 6-LITRE 16-CYLINDER ENGINE IS CAPABLE OF PROPELLING THE 'SILVER ARROW' TO OVER 200MPH, THOUGH MCNISH DIDN'T QUITE MANAGE THAT ON THE FAMOUS HILL CLIMB.
BEG NISSAN TO MAKE IT
Nissan 350Z GT-S
Nissan used the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed to show off two new concept cars: a sportier Murano crossover and an even higher performance version of our favourite coupe, the Nissan 350Z GT-S.
In this case, 'S' stands for supercharger, as that's where the concept's extra performance comes from. Peak power is increased from the regular car's 296bhp to a heady 377bhp, while maximum available torque is now 425Nm (up from 353Nm). Performance claims include a one second improvement on the 0-60mph time to 4.8 seconds.
The official line on this concept is that it was done as a show car in the engineers' spare time, but the car looks fantastic with its new body kit and promises to be as good to drive on the road as it is on the track. Call your Nissan dealer now and ask them to put it into production!
OFF-ROAD SUPERCAR
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
We witnessed Porsche taking the covers off this 450bhp supercar/SUV in Detroit earlier this year. Showing off its supercar side, Porsche entered the Cayenne Turbo S in the Supercar Run up the famous Goodwood Hill alongside more conventional sportscars, but its on-road performance was certainly good enough.
Demonstrating the Cayenne's off-road abilities, members of the public were able to take a fast passenger ride in the Cayenne driven by what Porsche call a "Driving Consultant" on a grass track next to the main hill climb route.
Making their first public debut in the UK were the new Porsche 911 models, the 911 GT3 and 480bhp Porsche 911 Turbo, not to mention all the classic racing Porsches brought along for the occasion.
