Best of the best
Porsche Great Britain: Ever since the first event back in 1993, Porsche cars have been among the star attractions at every Goodwood Festival of Speed. For 2019, the marque brought along the pride of its museum, backed up by a stunning array of new race and road models.
Goodwood Festival of Speed
At this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, held as ever on the Duke of Richmond’s estate in West Sussex, Porsche fans were treated to a stunning display of the family jewels past, present and future.
Once again the world-renowned Porsche Museum in Stuttgart proved that the best way to display its exhibits is to give them a thorough workout. Cars in action on the famous Goodwood Hill in July included the ultra-lightweight 1968 909 Bergspyder, which made its UK debut after running for the first time in over 30 years at Gaisberg Hillclimb in Austria during May.
Throwing down the gauntlet
The new Porsche 911 RSR was driven up Goodwood Hill by Porsche factory drivers Jörg Bergmeister and Gianmaria Bruni.Porsche legend Richard Attwood was reunited with the fearsome 1970 917 – the car with which he and team-mate Hans Herrmann won the Le Mans 24 Hours almost half a century ago.
Two Porsche 935s, separated by 43 years, were in action. The 1976 Porsche 935 ‘Baby’ was developed from the successful 3.0-litre 935 to compete in the domestic German race championship. To comply with the regulations of the time, it featured a smaller 1.4-litre turbocharged flat-six engine.
Bringing the story of that iconic car up to date was the contemporary 935, which made its UK dynamic debut at Goodwood. Although based on the street-legal 911 GT2 RS with an identical 3.8-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged engine, powering the rear wheels via a 7-speed PDK transmission, the car is designed for track use only. With a host of exterior details that recall great vehicles from Porsche Motorsport history, it was perfectly at home on Goodwood Hill.
Go Baby go!
Built in 1976 for the domestic German race championship and equipped with a 1.4-litre turbocharged flat-six engine, the Porsche 935 ‘Baby’ put in a giant performance.
First glance
Festival-goers were treated to an early glimpse of a still-camouflaged prototype of the all-electric Porsche Taycan ahead of its September launch.A stunning display of family jewels past, present and future
The theme of this year’s festival, ‘Speed Kings – Motorsport’s Record Breakers’, could have been tailor-made for Porsche, given the marque’s unmatched 19 wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Festival of Speed was also the ideal setting for the world premiere of the new 2019 911 RSR, the successor to the car with which Porsche won the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am category of the 2019 World Endurance Championship. Porsche factory drivers Jörg Bergmeister and Gianmaria Bruni were on driving duties, while 2018/2019 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior race driver Dan Harper took the wheel of the 911 GT3 Cup race car.
Porsche fans didn’t know where to look first, such was the quality and quantity of new road models on show. The 718 Cayman GT4, made its world premiere, while the 911 Speedster was given its UK debut. The Cayenne Coupé made its UK dynamic debut and a still-camouflaged prototype of the all-electric Taycan was driven up the Hill by former Porsche FIA World Endurance Champion Mark Webber.
Further information
To explore the full range of Porsche models, visit porsche.com/uk
