JOLLY GOODWOOD SHOW
ALL roads this weekend lead to the Goodwood Festival of Speed — an event that’s become the unofficial British Motor Show held at an aristocratic garden party. hosted by the Duke of Richmond on his Goodwood estate in West Sussex, this 27th festival (which runs until Sunday) will be attended by all the leading marques, which will be showing off their cars — not just on stands, but on the Tarmac hill- climb and off road.
As Jaguar Land Rover announce plans for a big investment in electric vehicles and batteries, the Duke opened the four-day event on Thursday driving a disguised prototype of the new Land Rover Defender — which will be available in three main size and style options — up the hill-climb (which doubles as his main driveway) past his stately home.
he said: ‘The Defender is close to my heart and a vehicle I’ve had a connection with over the decades, so to open this year’s festival by driving it up the hill was a real privilege.’
Main sponsor Aston Martin has a collection of cars including its beautiful but brutally powerful DBS Superleggera Volante convertible, which I’ve just driven in Spain.
The 211 mph £250,000 Volante has real presence and looks a handsome beast, costing £71,610 more than the rival Bentley Continental GTC convertible W12. The car I drove, in a fetching Zaffre blue, came in at £282,195 with options; £34,695 on top of the base price, or enough to buy you a decent SUV or estate car.
Powered by a mighty 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 engine delivering 715 bhp — equivalent to seven Ford Fiestas — it accelerates from a standing start to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds, and up to 100 mph, where legal, in 6.7 seconds, but is a delight to drive. The aerodynamic soft-top can cope with the ferocious acceleration, opening in 14 seconds and closing in 16.
Among the cars being driven semi- under cover with light camouflage will be Aston Martin’s upcoming DBX SUV, Volkswagen’s mass-market ID.3 pure electric car and the new Defender.