With its aggressive stance, classic lines and deep-throated growl, it'd take a really breathtaking array of exotic machinery to let a car like the Jaguar XKR go by unnoticed. Unfortunately for Jaguar, that's exactly what rolls up Lord March's lawn every summer for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The stoic British marque has a long history of participation in the event, and came this year with its 225mph XFR and a host of rare classics. But apparently eager to make its mark, Jaguar turned up with a special-edition XKR, painting it a retina-burning shade of lime green with orange decals, just to make sure it got noticed.

The Goodwood Special upgrades the stock XKR with a lowered suspension, retuned exhaust, 21-inch alloys and satin graphite trim replacing the chrome. But the real treat is under the hood, where Coventry's finest have squeezed out a further twenty ponies from the supercharged 5.0-liter V8 for a total of 530 horsepower and 515 lb-ft of torque. Considering that the (anything but) ordinary 510 hp version rockets to 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds, the extra power promises to take the sport coupe into even more rarified territory. Unfortunately for the time being the Goodwood Special remains a one-off, but Jaguar is reportedly keeping its ear to the ground for enough feedback to offer a limited production run. Check out the high-res gallery of images by clicking the thumbnails below.



[Source: Carscoop]

The Goodwood Festival of Speed took place last weekend at the Earl of March's home in West Sussex, England. Like every year, this event attracted throngs of auto fans from around the world, as well as celebrities (Jay Leno, Peter Fonda, Jesse James, etc.), manufacturers and motorsports teams.

The Hillclimb that takes place on 1.19 miles of Goodwood Estate's parkland roads served as the main attraction, and we've got plenty of shots of the action. Vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss (driven by Moss himself, no less), Bertone Mantide, a McLaren F1 GTR, Porsche 911 GT1, Pagoni Zonda Cinque R, Audi R15 TDI and a whole bunch of F1 cars can be seen attacking the hill. A few NASCAR race cars from various eras even jumped the puddle to attend. We've also got photo coverage of the Forest Rally Stage, as well as shots of the general atmosphere on the Earl of March's lawn over the weekend.

Check it all out in the gallery below, complete with descriptions to help you follow along.



[Photos: Tim Brown/ Motion Captured, Flickr]

We'll have our own images from last weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed for you in a jiffy, but until then we thought we'd share with you the fun that Ferrari had on the Earl of March's state. The Italian exotic car maker brought three stallions to the party: the new California, 599 GTB Fiorano with the HGTE package and the limited edition Scuderia Spider 16M. While all three models participated in the legendary Goodwood hillclimb, the Scuderia Spider 16M put on a particularly impressive show, covering the 1.16-mile hillclimb in just 59 seconds.

After the jump you'll find in-car video of the Scuderia Spider 16M's hillclimb run, along with equally cool but slightly slower vids of the California and 599 gTB Fiorano. We've also included a gallery of high-res images showing exactly how much fun Ferrari had at Goodwood this year. Enjoy.



[Source: Ferrari]

What's the most common Pavlovian response to the name "Porsche?" Thinking of people running on treadmills, right? If you had a different thought, consider that treadmills were front and center at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend, where 12 runners set a new world record for the longest distance covered in 48 hours: 539.86 miles. The previous world record of 495.76 miles was set in back in April 2008.

This weekend's event was organized by sports scientists at the Porsche Human Performance Centre, a name that prompted us to make sure it wasn't April 1. This is a real thing, though, and their "careful preparation" and special Adidas shoes helped each runner complete their 45-mile shifts – at an average speed of 11.3 mph – over the weekend. We appreciate what Porsche is trying to do here, but we'll take an electric 911 and just suck down a few Gatorades when it's ready. Thanks. Check out the high-res gallery below and the official press release after the jump.



[Source: Porsche]

The Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place this weekend, and every year the Earl of March, who manages the 12,000-acre Goodwood estate that hosts the event, commissions a giant art piece honoring that year's featured marque. Audi is the featured marque this year, which is timely since the Ingolstadt-based automaker is also celebrating its centennial.

This year's sculpture that was commissioned for Audi is a big swoosh of tire tracks with a 1937 Auto Union streamliner and new Audi R8 V10 suspended at either end. Standing 135-feet tall and weighing 40 tonnes, as they say in Britain, the piece is made entirely of steel to support itself without braces or cables. Gerry Judah is the designer, as he has been for Goodwood's featured art installations since 1997 when he first designed one for Ferrari. This is also the second time he's produced a piece for Audi, the first one being back in 1999.

It goes without saying that we all want to stick this in the flower bed in our front yard, but unfortunately you'll only be able to see it if you're in West Sussex this weekend to enjoy the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Check out more pics of this year's Audi sculpture, as well as art pieces from prior years, in the gallery below.



[Source: Audi, Photos courtesy of Gerry Judah]

As we start the second half of 2009, the automotive industry remains in turmoil but the economy is finally showing signs of recovery. And once again, we have a full calendar of events to keep our minds on the positive aspects of our industry. Show season is in full swing so you'll find plenty of concours events, cruise nights, and local shows filling July weekends. In America, Meadowbrook is the star of July, but there are also other interesting events like the GoodGuys Heartland Nationals, Hudson-Essex-Terraplane meet in Pontiac, New England Concours d'Elegance in Vermont, the First Annual Great American Car Show in Massachusetts, Micros on the Monument in Racine, International Bricklin Owners Club Annual Grand National Meet, and the Alfa Romeo Owners Club National Meet in Portland, among others.

There's lots of racing in July, too. Most Formula 1 teams will make a brief stop at Goodwood before resuming their regular racing schedule at the Nürburgring, followed by the Hungarian GP at the end of the month. IndyCar hits Watkins Glen, the Streets of Toronto, and the airport course in Edmonton. NASCAR fans can look forward to races in Daytona, Chicago, and at the Brickyard. ALMS teams can take it easy after the marathon that was the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a two-hour stint at Lime Rock Park.

There will also be plenty of other random racing action in July, with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Portland Historic Races, Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, Kohler International Challenge with Brian Redman, and the New England Forest Rally. Green car fans can look forward to the Eco-Rally U.S.A. 2009, and bike fans can take in the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix or AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio.

If none of those events appeals to you, check the Google Calendar after the jump for even more listings, all with detailed info and links. Please use the comments section to add or modify listings. Oh, and Happy 4th of July!

In a press release announcing the cars it would be taking to this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, Jaguar's own Mike Cross has officially confirmed the coming of the Jaguar XKR Goodwood Special. We noted before that it would be louder and faster and detailed in satin graphite, but now we find out it will get a lower ride height over 21-inch wheels and – are you ready? – "a unique Lime Green paint scheme and XKR exterior graphic" as shown above. Alrighty, then.

That hard-to-miss car will join a few more trailers of Jaguar goodies, including the 225 mph Bonneville XFR, a 1957 Long Nose D-Type, a Le Mans winning C-Type, and the one-of-a-kind Jaguar XJ13. Goodwood is just around the corner (July 3-5), and you can read all about Jaguar's plans in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Jaguar]

The details haven't been disbursed yet, but one of Jaguar's chief engineers has reportedly spilled the beans on a special XKR to be shown at Goodwood. Called, fittingly, the XKR Goodwood Special, it will get more power than the standard XKR's (shown above) 500 horses, and more audible snarl than the current exhaust emits.

Because Jag is said to be reconsidering the car's brightwork treatment, the Goodwood Special will wear a satin graphite detailing package that could foreshadow a future running change (we know we could do without the metal surrounds on the car's front skirt nostrils). The car is still being finished so there's a good chance it won't be seen until just before the event, but we always look forward to a cat that scratches harder and roars louder.

[Source: Pistonheads]

When Infiniti decides to tackle a new market, it sure knows how to make an entrance. At the Geneva Motor Show in March, the gas-electric hybrid Essence made jaws drop with its commanding size, beautiful lines, and green-inspired 592-hp soul. Unfortunately for every man, woman and child on the face of the earth, the Essence won't make its way to production -- ever -- but it's actually going to be driven in the UK... briefly.

Infiniti's voluptuous concept will make an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it'll make the run the hill climb and be joined at the FoS-TECH pavilion by the world's first right-hand-drive G37 convertible . While we're more than a little disappointed that the Essence will never hit production, if the concept's handsome design makes its way into other Infinitis, it'd be a good start. Press release below the fold.



[Source: Infiniti]

The Porsche Human Performance Center is a part of Porsche's Driving Experience Center at Silverstone. At the latter facility they'll show you how to be the best racing driver. The former facility is to train you to become the fittest racing driver, with a team of instructors to assess and create driver-specific training regimes.

Porsche wants to show just how good its instructors are by setting twelve of them on a treadmill during this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed and seeing how far they can run. The distance record for relay runners on treadmills over 48 hours is 495.76 miles -- that averages each person running more than 20 miles each day. If you tire of the on-track festivities and want to work off some pastries, there will be a second treadmill where you can pace yourself against them.

[Source: Inside Line]