Goodwood Festival of Speed
Penske Indycars bring Festival of Speed back with a bang
Vast swathes of previously-unseen classics, many exclusively obtained via American collectors including Roger Penske, filled the paddocks at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Large collections from major manufacturers were kept off the bill by pandemic travel restrictions, giving some more unusual privately owned cars chance to shine.
BMW 3.0 CSL
‘This was the very first car built by BMW’S M-sport division, and it’s the first time anyone’s seen it since a crash at Road Atlanta in 1975,’ said Alex Elliott of his freshly-restored BMW 3.0 CSL.
‘It was a works racer, but it also served as the factory development prototype CSL. After testing during winter 1972, it was used in the 1973 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) with Harald Menzel, who won two races at the Nordschleife with it. After its season in the DRM, it was taken to the US, where it was raced in the IMSA GT Championship by Hans-joachim Stuck. However it suffered a major accident in practice at the 1975 Road Atlanta 100, after which it was acquired by a Mexican privateer, taken to pieces, and spent the next 20 years being moved from pillar to post.
‘I came by it 25 years ago, an incomplete and stalled restoration. Then more recently I found out about a container of period 3.0 CSL M-sport parts for sale, bought it from the US, and lo and behold, it turned out to be the missing bits from my car!
‘It’s been a long road restoring it, especially because there are some unusual elements to it compared to production CSLS. The roll cage, for example, is a different shape, not at right-angles like those of the later works cars, and the rear suspension turrets are prototypical and handmade, as though several different setups were tried. More production-car thinking was applied to later cars.’
Sunbeam Imp Sport
‘No-one’s see this car for 45 years,’ said Jonathan Bevan of the iconic Sunbeam Imp Sport his grandfather George Bevan used to win the 1972 British Touring Car Championship. ‘My grandfather and I spent 25 years looking for this car,’ he said. ‘Then a photo of it turned up on Facebook. He spotted the killswitch on its C-pillar, knew it was his old car, we went over to Germany and bought it.
‘It was tired, but it was all-original with the same engine and wheels it had when he raced it. It even has its Seventies brake discs and pads.
‘There were four Bevan Imps built. Two were destroyed, but this one was the fastest of all. George won the 1972 four-hour Tourist Trophy with it, and did seven races of the 1973 British Saloon Car Championship before selling it to Hans Sauer for him to use in the European Touring Car Championship. Wolfgang Rosch couldn’t get close to it on track, so ended up buying it from him to race. When he passed away, his wife was left with it.
‘In retrospect, George was very naïve – he could’ve made a massive tuning business off the back of this car, like Cooper with Minis, but he was only interested in racing. For example, he only had
ten cylinder head castings made for his engines, rather than putting them into production to sell. But it’s main claim to fame is that it was the first car to win the BTCC. For one year only, 1972, the name of the series changed to ‘Touring Car’ before switching back to ‘Saloon’ again for 1973-1986.’
Penske Lola-offenhauser T192
As part of a vast tribute to Roger Penske that spanned the entire event, Penske’s Indycar collection made its first appearance in the UK. ‘The 1969 Lola-offenhauser T192 Four-wheel drive is the earliest,’ said Bernie King, the ex-tyrrell fabricator who has been with Team Penske for 40 years. ‘It was Penske’s first Indy entry with Mark Donahue, who was Rookie of the Year in 1969.
‘It was very advanced. The four-wheel drive didn’t give the advantage expected, and the turbocharger was fitted to the side of the Offenhauser cylinder block in an attempt to balance the chassis out. Penske was also the first to start using stabilising fins at Indianapolis. Donahue got the car into the lead, but the Mallory magneto had a problem, they pulled him into the pits to change it, and he ended up finishing in seventh place.
‘The four-wheel drive caused it to understeer. It arrived in the US from Lola too close to the start of the race for the team to test it, but the Indy 500 was basically the car’s first practice session.’
Lotus 38/8S
Another Indycar making its post-restoration debut, this time at the hands of Classic Team Lotus, this 38/8S was supposed to run up the hill climb course before its owner was caught out by covid-19 travel restrictions. ‘It’s the first time the car’s been seen since the Sixties, and its first time in the UK since it left the factory,’ said CTL boss Clive Chapman.
‘This is the ninth Type 38/8 built. Graham Hill used it for practice and qualifying at the 1967 Indy 500. Incidentally, the ‘S’ stands for ‘Symmetrical’, referring to the equally-sized wishbones each side, making it unique among 38/8s.’
‘He used a Type 42 in the race,’ said Clive. ‘After qualifying, this 38/8S was sold and went through two or three teams until it was obsolete by the end of the Sixties. It ended up in the corner of someone’s workshop until Can Am Cars acquired it ten years ago, and it was sent back to Hethel to be restored – something we’ve only just finished.’
Fiat X1/9 Abarth Prototipo
This newly-restored Abarth rally prototype was making its first appearance in the UK, part of Monica Macaluso’s collection curated in memory of her late husband, rally navigator Gino. ‘This car did the 1974 Giro d’italia with Clay Regazzoni driving and my husband navigating,’ said Monica. ‘Regazzoni was supposed to be driving a Stratos, but Gino had been developing this car in parallel with Giorgio Pianta, so decided to run it instead.
‘It was just one of five prototypes built, and was never homologated for Group 4 because Fiat joined the Abarth and Lancia HF teams together, prioritising the Stratos once it had proved itself.
‘It did win the 1974 Coppa Liburna with Maurizio Verini and Angelo Torriani, but it disappeared after that – the only one of the prototypes not to leave Italy. Gino found it by chance in 1987 in a garage in the middle of the Piedmont countryside, painted white with a chicken logo on it – a farmer had used it in autotests. But underneath it was totally original and we’ve restored it especially for this event.’
Hispano-suiza H6B Tourer
Recently acquired by Australian industrial designer Marc Newson from the Earl of Moray’s Doune collection where it had hidden for 30 years, this imposing 1926 Dual Cowl Tourer made its show debut as part of a Hispano-suiza class in the Cartier Style et Luxe concours. It has just received a full restoration by Lukas Hüni in Switzerland.
Originally built for Count Louis Zbrorowski, it’s unusual for a Hispano-suiza in that it features unique English bodywork coachbuilt by Bligh Brothers. The dual-cowl shape features a second V-shaped windscreen for rear passengers, complete with a second set of instruments for their benefit too. It also features a fitted luggage.