Why The Goodwood Revival Is Much More Than The World’s Greatest Car Show

Unseasonably warm weather meant less vintage tweed was on display than normal at the former RAF base, but Goodwood still served up the year’s greatest car event last weekend.

Celebrating its 25th birthday, the Goodwood Revival began in 1998 as a celebration of the reopening of the Goodwood Motor Circuit, which hosted races between 1948 and 1966. Today it is, in my humble opinion at least, the world’s greatest automotive event. Monterey Car Week is special, with The Quail, Motorsports Reunion and Pebble Beach, and the UK also plays host to the fantastic Hampton Court Concours of Elegance – a car show in Henry VIII’s garden, no less – but it’s Revival that shines brightest of all.

The cars gathered to compete in Revival help, of course, with everything from Austin J40 pedal cars raced by children to Ferrari 250s piloted by Formula One drivers, taking part across the three-day event. But it’s the people and the attention to detail that make Google Revival truly special. Dressing up isn’t compulsory, but almost all of the 150,000 visitors don period clothing from the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.

The hot weather meant gentlemen mostly left their tweed at home, but strolling around the paddocks still felt like a journey back in time. Floral dresses and go-go boots are always popular, and you’re sure to spot the occasional cos-player dressed up as a ‘60s Formula One driver, a member of The Beatles, or an oil-stained mechanic. One gentleman attends every year dressed as an entirely convincing Tazio Nuvolari, complete with a trophy in his hand and a winner’s wreath around his neck. Parents push their children around in vintage strollers. Even the marshalls and event staff dress up in authentic overalls.

This isn’t to say the Revival is purely a fancy-dress party. The paddocks are packed with multi-million-dollar Ferraris, Aston Martins, Bentleys and Maseratis, often battle-scarred from races that see professional drivers giving it (almost) everything in their fight for victory.

My partner and I attended on Saturday this year – with regular tickets we paid face value for, I should add – and my highlights of the day were the St. Mary’s Trophy and the Lavant Cup.

Split into two parts, with one driver racing on the Saturday and their teammate taking over on the Sunday, the St. Mary’s is always popular. Not because of the exotic machinery – here you’ll see Jaguar Mk1s and Ford Thunderbirds battle with tiny Austin A35s and even a two-stroke Saab 93B – but because of who is driving.

Here’s just a taster of the entry list for the Saturday race: David Brabham, Karun Chandhok, Rowan Atkinson, Darren Turner, Andy Wallace, Jenson Button, Marino Franchitti, Tiff Needell, Tom Kristensen, Romain Dumas, Richard Attwood, Jochen Mass, Jimmie Johnson and Max Chiltern.

That’s an F1 World Champion, a nine-time Le Mans winner, Porsche’s first (and now 83-year-old) Le Mans winner, a seven-time Nascar champion, Jaguar’s most recent Le Mans winner, a former F1 driver and TopGear presenter…and Mr Bean. The racing was, as you might well expect, incredible. At one point we were passed by Button and Johnson battling among four cars abreast as they raced flat-out down the Lavant straight.

Speaking of Lavant, the next race was my second highlight from Saturday. For the 2023 Revival the Lavant Cup was made up entirely of Ferrari 250s and included no fewer than 10 250 SWBs, plus the one-off SWB “Breadvan’ named after its elongated rear, a pair of 250 LMs, a 250 GT Lusso, a 330 GTO and even a 250 GTO, albeit one believed to be a replica owned by a collector whose garage also contains the real thing. You can’t blame them, given GTOs are worth anywhere between $40 million and $60 million, depending on race history.

Regardless, they make for a jaw-dropping sight as they take to the Goodwood circuit, V12 engines howling and drivers giving it their all.

As well as racing, the Goodwood Revival has a car show in a building designed to look like Earls Court, a London venue that was home to the British Motor Show during the Goodwood era. There’s also a couple of pop-up pubs for picking up a thirst-quenching pint of beer (or there’s a champagne and seafood tent, if you prefer), an Americana area complete with live band and dance floor, and for 2023 a circus that performed several times each day.

Then there’s the airfield full of military planes, jeeps, tanks and other vehicles, the opportunity to take a helicopter flight around the Goodwood estate, a vintage highstreet with Betty’s Hair Salon (bookable in advance for the perfect period hair do), and a vintage market selling clothes, artwork and more. Actors walk around the site, constantly in character as they interact with passers-by.

When you’ve finally had enough of the racing, you can head to ‘Over The Road’, where there’s a sprawling vintage fairground – complete with ferris wheel, dodgems, carousel and amusement arcade – and a drive-in theater with classic American cars from which to watch a movie with a bag of popcorn. As the sun sets and the racing concludes, a pair of Spitfires put on a show overhead and everyone fills the entertainment marquees, where you can dance to live ‘50s and ‘60s music.

The Goodwood Revival blends a world-class motorsport meeting with a beautiful sense of escapism. No matter what is going on elsewhere in the world, or whatever you have going on at home, a day at the Revival is a day to ignore your smartphone, tune out of current affairs and allow yourself to be transported to a different place and time. For me, it’s like being a kid again, playing with my Scalextric slot-car set, complete with 60s race cars and Goodwood-era buildings, hay bails and well-dressed spectators.

What truly makes Goodwood Revival special are the people. Walk around, soak up the atmosphere, appreciate the attention to detail and, whether you like cars or not, it is impossible not to smile.