Goodwood Festival of Speed Parking Lot 2024: Here are the most interesting facts about the mindblowing car show ever…

CHICHESTER, England — The United States needs something like the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It is part racing event, part auto show, part Cars & Coffee and part family-friendly festival with more than a dollop of fancy, Champagne-soaked frivolity about, but it’s not a focus. Some car events on our fair shores come close, most obviously the multiple events of Monterey Car Week, but no single one of them can match the Festival of Speed. Ironically, they’re also more hoity toity and expensive to attend than the one hosted at the 11,000-acre estate of an English duke.

Goodwood Festival of Speed Parking Lot 2024: Pics of what is basically a car show itself
For those under 40, these are basically the cool cars you grew up with idolizing                    CHICHESTER, England — Last September, I discovered the most interesting car show I have ever attended: the parking lot at the Goodwood Revival.

“While the Pierce Arrows, Delahayes and I Can’t Even Identifies at various Concours elsewhere are certainly interesting in their own right, the Goodwood Revival parking lot features cars you’ve actually heard of before, from the humble to high-six-digit masterpieces. And a lot of them. Like a giant parking lot in a field a lot.”

The Revival parking lot is restricted by model year, however. The first dozenish rows are restricted to cars made prior to 1970. The next dozenish are restricted to cars made prior to 1990. Anything newer than that? Well, there isn’t a third dozenish rows. Anything newer goes in the general parking areas.

As it turns out, though, that missing third section of post-1990 modern classics does exist. It’s just at the Goodwood Festival of Speed where it’s officially known as the Performance Car Park. Join me for a photo tour of it, which is also one of the best car shows I’ve ever attended.

Best color pairing by far: a G Wagen from when Mercedes decided to sell them in Skittles colors, a purple Ferrari Italia and a Miami Blue Porsche 911 GT3. All Porsches forever should be offered in Miami Blue. Period, end of story.

BTW, it was a treat to see a Mercedes GTR in Magno Green Hell again. The last time I did, I was driving it on an F1 track in Portugal.

Oh, you think the E 63 AMG wagon is cool? Ha, try the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake. In matte blue no less. Yes please.

 

The RS 6 Avants we did not get. The bottom one is the car I would’ve driven out of here with if I had a choice. I just love this thing. That rear-three-quarter view is sport wagon perfection.

Another favorite. The original Aston Martin DB9 in spot-on green. They kept tacking stuff onto the DB9 and then evolved the look in subsequent models, but this is just so clean and pure and perfect. Chef’s kiss.

Ferrari Superamerica. Had one of the most distinctive convertible roofs ever. It flipped back to rest atop of the deck behind. That meant that whatever dust and debris might’ve rested upon it while retracted was bound to be deposited back into the cabin when closed. Didn’t catch on.