Goodwood Festival of Speed: 5 gems you may have missed

David Kavermann
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Photos / Getty, Supplied

Photos / Getty, Supplied

Every year, Lord March welcomes hundreds of thousands of motoring fans to Goodwood estate for the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The grounds are packed with vehicles from all eras of motoring; road and race, four and two wheels, historic and modern, anything and everything had a place at last weekend's festival.

It's easy to get lost with so much on offer. One week on, we're still processing it all, but here are five stand-out gems you may have missed:

Lambretta Siluro

In post-war Italy a new battle was raging between Vespa and Lambretta. The cause -- both wanted to produce the fastest 125cc scooter. Vespa held the record at 172km/h but, to end the argument, Lambretta built the streamline Siluro.

Despite looking like a miniature blimp, the supercharged two-stroke Siluro emphatically took the 125cc speed crown in 1951 at 194km/h.

Shortly after, the risk of riding these encased scooters and deaths in attempts to break Labretta's record resulted in an unofficial truce being called between the two companies.

Over half a century later the 125cc record stands at 234km/h.

Audi RS002

This strange-looking bug car is what Audi (internally) thought its World Rally Championship contender could look like after the troubled Group B era was abolished.

Unofficially launched in 1984, without the knowledge of some top level Audi executives, the RS002 was Audi's mid-engine answer to the likes of the Peugeot 205 and Lancia Delta.

The concept was developed in a wind tunnel and tested behind the Iron Curtain, shipped in crates labelled 'Kenya Test' -- but to this day, many of the RS002's finer details remain a secret.

When Audi management found out about the project, it was killed, quick smart, as the executives feared it would undermine the credentials of the road-going Quattro still in dealerships.

Renault Zoe E-sport concept

Revealed at the Geneva Motor Show this year, the Renault Zoe E-sport concept was let loose in front of the crowd at Goodwood.

Apart from looking great, the Zoe features one of the most highly developed electric power trains in the world.

Effectively, it's Renault's Formula E race car packaged into a hot hatch. Most of the vehicle is built with carbon fibre. It weighs 1400kg (including 450kg of batteries), produces 340kW and 640Nm, and will do 0-100km/h in just 3.2 seconds.

Renault has a history of producing great hatchbacks, and this concept could be proof that will continue into the electric revolution.

Ferrari 330 P4

In 1967, Chris Amon was signed to race for Ferrari in F1, but the contract also included driving Ferrari's 330 P4 sport car in the world sportscar championship.

Powered by a 4-litre V12, the 330 is regarded as one of the most beautiful Ferrari's ever made, and this 330 at Goodwood was the very car Amon drove that year to victory at the Daytona 24 Hours and 1000km Monza event.

In the final round of the championship, Amon partnered with Sir Jackie Stewart, finishing second in the race at Brands Hatch and claiming the manufacturer's championship for Ferrari by a single point over its rival, Porsche.

Jaguar XJR-12D

Famous for winning the 24 hour races at Daytona and Le Mans in 1990, the Jaguar XJR-12 proved that almost three decades on it’s still a formidable force against the stopwatch during the Goodwood Timed Shootout session.

Weighing 900kg and powered by a 545kW V12, the Group C sports-prototype took top honours in the only ‘competitive’ session of the weekend.

With British driver Justin Law behind the wheel, the Jaguar topped the time sheets with a 46.13 second pass, less than a tenth of a second up on second place set by the 1993 Penske-Chevorlet PC22 CART Indycar.

The Timed Shootout is one of the best examples of just how diverse the Goodwood Festival of Speed really is. Participants this year included road, time attack, hill climb, Formula 1, Formula E, Can-Am, Nascar, rally and GT3 cars – just to name a few.

You can watch the Jaguar V12 scream up the Goodwood course here.

Or sit back and watch the whole timed session here.