“Hot oil and thunder,
Sound and scent vie to overwhelm
Your senses. It’s Goodwood.”

An inverted racing car held aloft by sinuous metal tentacles can only mean one thing. It’s that glorious weekend, where the Sussex Downs echo to the sound of vintage motorsport weapons and high-dollar showroom icons alike. The Goodwood Festival of Speed is undoubtedly the foremost celebration of The Car to be held anywhere in Britain, and not a great many events can trump it anywhere in the world.
The Festival of speed is presented on such a colossal scale that it’s near impossible to catch everything that’s going on, but even a flavour of this weekend’s sights, sounds and smells is worth documenting. For the next two days, Hooniverse will be doing everything it can to recreate the experience in your living room.


The sculpture that graces the front lawn of Goodwood House this year has, again, been wrought by by artisans under the direction of steel-girder guru Gerry Judah. In a break from tradition, though, it’s not dedicated to a marque, but a man.
Whatever your thoughts on Bernie Eccleston, Tsar of all that is Formula One, there’s little doubting his significance where motorsport is concerned. F1 is, of course, represented here to a high degree, but as is virtually every other form of vehicle that’s ever been competitively raced at any point in time. Actually, I’m not convinced that there’s anything steam powered. Perhaps a traction engine will take on the hillclimb next year.
For a live feed of the noisiest and most exciting stuff as it happens, follow this link to Gooodwo0d’s own Youtube channel.

Welcome to the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

(Images copyright Chris Haining, Hooniverse 2017. No apologies for the haiku)