Autoblog

England has seen more than its fair share of crop circles over the years, and the "mysterious" impressions have found their way to Goodwood right in time for its 10th Revival. The crop circles were found in the grass at the West Sussex circuit during final preparations for the Revival, which runs today through Sunday. The Goodwood Revival features vehicles from the 50s and 60s in a retro race, along with period dress and a variety of festivities.

Several aircraft from many different decades have flown safely above the Goodwood course in past years, but in 2003 there was a reported UFO siting at the race and the photographs of the sighting were the talk of the Internets after the alleged incident. We're pretty skeptical about the crop circles, so we're guessing the marketing types over at Goodwood wanted to get one more media push in advance of the 10th anniversary of a very cool weekend event. We would like to see the event in person, but short of little green men beaming us over there, we'll have to sit this one out.

[Source: World Car Fans]

Click above to view the Fiat 500 Aria concept in hi-res

Having already had to increase production several times over, the Fiat 500 continues to win the hearts and minds of consumers around the world... tree-huggers included. But that isn't about to stop Fiat from seeking out even more buyers, especially those of environmental conscience. And so reports indicate that the Italian automaker is preparing a hybrid version of the popular retro-mini.

Previewed by the unveiling of the 500 Aria concept at this year's Geneva Motor Show, the 500 hybrid is tipped to join an electric motor and battery pack to Fiat's 0.9-liter two-cylinder gasoline engine. The diminutive yet stylish hybrid is also expected to employ start-stop technology and a dual-clutch transmission to further reduce emissions and increase fuel economy, which promises to increase the green factor for the entire Fiat group. Intriguingly, however, Fiat is reportedly planning to unveil the 500 hybrid at Goodwood Festival of Speed next summer.

[Source: Auto Express via AutoblogGreen]

Click above for high-res gallery from Goodwood

The Goodwood Festival of Speed wrapped up on Sunday after three days of pure motorsports Heaven. While we would have liked to have posted a gallery or two a day from the event, internet issues kept us from sharing anything else after firing off our initial couple of posts. To make up for it we have a few massive galleries of goodness from Goodwood planned. We start today with some highlights, but will try to show some of the special categories individually too in later posts. After all, it isn't really a race in the strictest sense of the word and the pics will keep you just as entertained now as if they come next week. So hopefully you'll appreciate what we have to offer and if it isn't your thing, feel free to move onto something else you like better.

For those who want to stick around you can expect to see coverage of everything from the Cartier Style et Luxe concours to the Airbus A380 flyover. We'll also include some shots of the people and sights from around the grounds of Lord March's estate. Although the racing is what brings people here, it is truly the ambiance that keeps them coming back year after year. The photos are captioned as much as possible for your convenience, but look for supercars, celebrity drivers, vintage racers, classic cars, movie cars, wild track action and much more. We hope you enjoy our expanded coverage of the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed as much as we enjoyed being there and sharing it with you.

All images copyright © 2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

Click on the above image for our high-res photo gallery of the XF-R

Less than two months after Jaguar XF-R spy shots (followed by a second set) emerged, our man on the ground at the Goodwood Festival of Speed spotted the real thing doing double-time in front of the crowd. He was quick enough to snap five good shots of the fast cat at speed. Power is speculated to be in the 500 hp range, courtesy of a supercharged 5.0-liter V8. Riding on performance rubber wrapped around 20-inch wheels, the sleek sedan will be sure to sink claws into its German rivals when it rolls into showrooms next year.

All photos copyright Frank Filipponio / Weblogs Inc.

Click image above for high-res gallery of pics from our first night at Goodwood

We got back from the Members' Ball at Goodwood House and we wanted to share some of our shots from the opening event. Although we were reduced to using a point-and-shoot, we thought you still might like to see some of the cars and sights at this year's Festival of Speed. Lord March puts on a fantastic event and the night before the whole thing starts the members get to attend a special dinner where the Bonhams auction offerings are open for viewing and the Central Display for this year's festivities gets unveiled.

As this is a big anniversary for Land Rover, they were chosen as the featured marque. The display featured five special silver Land Rovers climbing a giant steel girder jungle gym of sorts. After seeing some of the cars in the auction tent and having a wonderful supper, the fireworks and unveiling were almost too much, but there was more. Among the many featured categories this year are some vintage dragsters from the '50s and '60s that still run in a special historic series. As a treat to the members, a few of them were fired up so the Brits could experience the sight, sound, feel, taste and smell of these Hemi-powered slingshots. With so few Americans in attendance, it was nice to see these racers being given such honored treatment. It truly brought tears to our eyes. Actually that was the nitro-methane. Enjoy the gallery.

All photos copyright © 2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs Inc.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is claimed to be "... the world's biggest and most diverse celebration of the history of motor sport and car culture." Held on the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, the event was founded in 1933 and has grown over the years to include a hill climb race, rally stage, design competition, technology showcase, and air show (this year's show will feature a fly-over by the Airbus A380). To celebrate 60 years of the XK, Jaguar will be bringing more than a few special cars to Goodwood this week. They include the XKR-S (the fastest ever production XK), XK 140, XK 120 'Montlhéry' Fixed Head Coupe, D-type "Long Nose," and the XK 120 "NUB 120" (shown above). All will be accompanied by Jaguar's Le Mans winning XJR-9. This is an annual event you don't want to miss. Don't lose sleep if you can't be there in person this year... we've got someone on the ground covering everything beginning Friday.

Here's the four wheeled bearded lady of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, courtesy of Kahn Design and (God help us) Cosworth. To us, spending tens of thousands of dollars on a vehicle, then affixing a bodykit to it that would make an '88 Grand Am sneer seems a bit nonsensical. Then again, being of means doesn't always translate into having sense. As if that wasn't enough, even Cosworth hasn't coaxed much out of this abomination. The 3.6-liter diesel V8 gets an extra 30 horsepower, for an even 300. We're not likely to see that powertrain in US-bound Range Rovers any time soon, but it'd be a lot easier to stomach if it were wrapped in the Sport's sheetmetal. We can only hope that this kit isn't glued on that well – from the looks of that front bumper, it's not – and we're guessing that it ends up as tire fodder on the Earl's driveway.


[Source: AutoTrader UK]

The Goodwood Festival of Speed begins on Friday and we wanted to let you know that we'll be there, once again, to cover the action. Just like last year, we hope to provide you with massive galleries chock full of high res pics of everything from the motorbikes to the rally cars, from the concours to the F1 action, from the special displays to the air show. As an overview of the event and of our coverage, we've posted a few essential lists after the jump. We understand that most of you can't attend, but for those going to Goodwood House on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the event schedule is below the break. There's also a list of the highlights expected at this year's event, which has adopted the theme: 'Hawthorn to Hamilton – Britain's Love Affair with World Motor Sport.'

Picking highlights from an event like this is really a chore. The whole event is a highlight, with so many of the greatest vehicles from automotive history assembling in such a scenic location and being driven by some of the most legendary names from motorsports lore. And finally, Goodwood is all about special anniversaries, so there is also a list of some of the milestones being commemorated this year in West Sussex. For all of the other details about tickets, camping at the manor, directions and the like, visit the official Goodwood site.

As for the focus of the show -- the cars -- we're especially looking forward to seeing the Audi R8 V12 TDi, Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS, Artega GT, and Mazda Furai run; the flyover by the Airbus 380; the anniversary collections of cars from McLaren, Cosworth, Lola, and Porsche; the Gulf liveried cars; the Bond cars; the collection of dragsters that will be started twice a day on the Cricket Pitch; and of course the modern F1 cars. We hope you can make it down to Goodwood this year, but if you can't, we you know you're a click away when our coverage begins Friday.

[Source: Goodwood]

Last year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed we spied our first Lotus 2-Eleven hypercar in the flesh. Turned out the owner was our friend, Patrick O'Neill, who had graciously agreed to be the lone Lotus representative in the supercar category. Apparently when Patrick lined up in the paddock to take his shot at the hill on day 2, a familiar face appeared at his side. While he wasn't sure exactly who it was, he knew he knew that mug from somewhere. Turned out it was another American named Patrick - Patrick Dempsey. That's right, McDreamy himself. While O'Neill chatted with Dempsey he learned that the actor was quite a Lotus fan as well as a promising racer. Dempsey asked if he could go along for the ride and O'Neill obliged. It took a little while, but O'Neill just sent us a video clip of their encounter.

What you'll see in this video clip is just a snippet of the hour or so that the two Patricks spent together on that morning in West Sussex. As O'Neill describes it, "This was a cool experience...I was very lucky to be able to drive my Lotus 2-Eleven in the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year. Patrick Dempsey. AKA Dr. McDreamy, is a Lotus fan and asked for a ride. I got to spend over an hour with him and he is a great guy and a real racer." Watch the clip closely and you'll notice the Pininfarina P4/5 custom Enzo of James Glickenhaus ahead of them and an Aston Martin behind being driven by former F1 champion Damon Hill behind. Enjoy. Thanks for sharing, Patrick!

[Source: YouTube]

With healthy sales, an expanding Phantom lineup, and a new model line on the way, Rolls-Royce needed more room at Goodwood. As such, work will commence late this year on a comprehensive expansion that will see the relocation and renovation of facilities like the paint and leather shops, and the addition of a second production line that will become active later next year. Ultimately, one of the lines will be dedicated to Phantom production and the other to the as-yet-unnamed companion model. Rolls-Royce will also add staff to allow for the increased production needs. The net result: Rolls-Royce will be able to produce more of a good thing. Once we become millionaires, we're so taking advantage of this.

[Source: Rolls-Royce]