Most of the machines one finds at the Goodwood Festival of Speed are designed with singularity of purpose: to go as fast as possible. The clue is in the name. But, emotionally, the vehicles that tear up the Duke of Richmond’s driveway are about so much more than sheer velocity. Their focused designs carry hopes and dreams beyond the ambitions of the pilot sitting in that snug, spartan cockpit. Racing and performance cars are built to inspire, and the Festival of Speed exists to celebrate this and put thoroughbred racers and slinky sports cars on a pedestal of worship. And, just as a cathedral has a tower so as to be seen from a great distance, Goodwood has an automotive sculpture designed to draw followers and act as its festival centrepiece.
Each year, Goodwood has a featured marque; a manufacturer with its own disciples, perhaps due to its style or success on the track, often both. This time, it was Porsche taking the spotlight, in the year of the carmaker’s 75th birthday. They supplied the candles, and Gerry Judah baked the cake.
Judah, 72, is the artist responsible for each year’s Central Feature; pieces of towering symbolism that started in 1997 with a triumphal arch
