Goodwood festival of Speed day 1

Thursday, 30 June 2011 16:50

Goodwood once again opens its grounds a day early for the Moving Motor Show, a playground where you can sit in and ride shotgun up the hill with some of the newest cars in the commercial arena.

This year as per norm, Lord March has struck his deal with god and the voluptuous clouds are holding the water and providing us photographers with some dramatic imagery.

Festival of Speed always has a remarkable arena of celebrations and this year is no exception. With the 'by now' familiar 50th anniversary of the E Type Jaguar, there are some less obvious marques that are also revelling in their longevity of engineering:

The motoring pioneer Mercedes-Benz with 125 Years since the benchmark Benz Tricar appeared in 1886. The Forest Rally stage provides a spectacular for
110 years of the Skoda. For one hundred years of Indianapolis there are over 40 cars which all played a significant part, are displayed together in mini Gasoline Alley. And lastly Chevrolet is celebrating its centenary at various locations throughout the 2011 Festival of Speed.

Here at Goodwood Mercedes have made a very special wall display within their marquee, outlining the key points in their 125 year motoring history. Here is a summary: 29th January 1886 - Carl Benz patented his three wheeled motor car. 1924 - Introduced the 2 seater sports car. 1928 - The birth of the super car. 1936 - The invention of diesel power. 1954 saw the most gorgeous car of all time come into creation: the 300 SL Gullwing. 1959 - The engineering of the first fraction control device. 1973 - Safety is instigated with the 3 point inertia seat belt. "Safety comes first". 1981 - The airbag. 1984 - Anti lock brakes. 1992 - The Airbag for driver and passenger comes as standard. 2005 - Night view advances. 2009 - Alerts for drowsy drivers.

Over the weekend I am sure I will discover some more celebrations. One thing I know for certain is that the drivers will tell me a thing or two.

Goodwood festival of speed continues through to Sunday 3rd July 2010. By Lara Platman