Going to something like Goodwood, you know the general setup is that there will be a lot of cars on static display and some going around the track. I wanted to try and get something a bit different from the show, so I didn't really bother with any track shots but went more for detail on the static displays. Kit wise, I went armed with my 5D mk 2 and 70-200 f4L IS and 17-40L.
Audi R8 (Deliberate grain added)
After the drive to Goodwood and the tractor (trailer) ride from the car park into the show itself, we headed for the Motor Show tent which housed moderate stands from a lot of manufacturers with some displays. This was where people who had pre-booked could take a car out for a drive around the track. You'll notice in the picture above and below (which were taken in the main "Moving Motor Show" area) that there is a road running down the centre of the area. It was quite an interesting idea - the internal road gave way to a sort-of temporary metal road that ran from this tented area onto the actual track, and there was a constant queue of cars both going out and coming back.
Lotus Evora, just coming back after a test-drive around the track
You can see in the image above that each manufacturer had a partitioned section, and it was in these area's that some static displays were on show, for example this beautiful E-Type Jag:
E-Type Jag Detail
E-Type Jag
Unfortunately, there was a bit of an accident - the paper's reported someone blacking out in a souped up Civic Type-R - which ended up with and crashing into 4 people, this particular E-Type and out the window opposite.
On the Lotus stand, there was an absolutely immaculate Esprit S1. I have a great fondness for Lotus (the majority of my shots are of Lotus cars, and I own an Turbo Esprit HC), and this was a gorgeous example of the first Esprit.
Esprit S1
Esprit S1 - the boot
The Esprit
Outside, there were lots more cars (suprisingly!) I noticed this Exige on the grass - it had an interesting matt finish paint and actually looked rather good. (Shot notes: I added a soft grad (in Lightroom) to bring back some detail in the sky)
Matt Black Exige
In the main area, there were fantastic showrooms erected in the days before the show started. The Audi room was effectively a 3 storey building with a raised area out the front - absolutely amazing how these things are transported and built in hours!
Round at the Lotus show area, there were some lovely cars:
Roger Becker Special Edition Elise SC (Supercharged)
Lotus Elise Detail
Lotus Type 52
Exige Detail, with Elise in the background
This following car is very interesing - it's the Evora 414E Hybrid (Concept). The car itself is an Evora, but with the engine removed and replaced with 2 200bhp electric motors and a set of batteries. There is also a 1.3L monoblock petrol engine which can also run off ethanol which can charge the batteries.
Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid
Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid
The range on batteries is around 40 miles, but with the petrol engine the range is increased to over 200 miles, with an efficiency of around 50 miles per gallon. And those electric motors can propel the car to 60mph in around 4 seconds! It's only a concept at the moment - the car in the photograph has all the bits inside (you can see them through the back window above), but it doesn't move under it's own steam yet.
Another vaguely interesting car was the Mercedes SLS. I'm not a great fan of Mercedes cars, but this one looked quite unique. It has fairly retro front styling, and gull-wing doors, and a price tag of around £160k.
Mercedes SLS AMG
Mercedes SLS AMG
I changed to the 70-200 lens at this point, and across the track from all the show areas was the house. Each year there is a piece of art outside - this year the art represented 100 years of Alfa Romeo:
100 years of Alfa Romeo
And lining the track were flags from all the manufacturers - here's the Lotus one:
Trackside Lotus Flag
In the Cartier Style et Luxe area, there are some excellent examples of cars from back in the day (that sounds so old!). With my focus on Lotus today, I was pretty excited to see the Etna there. I'd read about this car, but never actually seen it. It 's the V8 concept from 1984 who's engine I believe was going to make it into the Esprit, but Lotus ended up in severe financial difficulties and troubles with Colin Chapman's death a year or two before. The project got canned, and it wasn't until around 1995 that Lotus finally managed to get a V8 into the Esprit.
Lotus Etna
You can't see it properly in this picture, but the ETNA letters on the back of the car look like they are just pieces of insulating tape stuck onto the car! Pure Lotus :)
Lotus Etna - Rear
There were some fascinating shaped cars in the Cartier Style et Luxe area too, so I caught a shot of a few of these. The car below is the Alfa Carabo, designed b y Marcello Gandini at Bertone. It's very, very flat and reminds me of a hot-wheels car!
Alfa Carabo
Then there's the Alfa Navajo. This looks like the sort of car a puppet from Thunderbirds would be driving! It's got bold body styling all over...
Alfa Navajo - Thunderbirds are go!
... and I have no idea what Marecllo Gandini was thinking when he designed the back:
Alfa Navajo - Is this the most insane back end to a car ever?
I picked a few other detail shots out from the day. The front of a Morgan has a unique and classic shape, and in this colour in the sunlight it becomes a nice almost monochromatic array of shapes:
And finally in the American car section in the middle of the green were some massive engined chrome covered lumps with the suspension of a sofa (you can tell I like these things!), so rather than taking a picture of the cars I got a detail shot across the front and windscreen of one:
All in all a great day - beautiful weather, loads of cars both new and old, and a brilliant opportunity for photography. I can highly recommend a visit one year if you've never been and are at all interested in cars.
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