The Fiat S76 or "Beast of Turin" is a Goodwood favourite and can usually be heard before it is seen at #FOS
Legend of Goodwood's golden racing era and Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori once famously said "give me Goodwood on a summer's day and you can forget the rest".
The first public race meeting took place in 1802 and, through the nineteenth century, ‘Glorious Goodwood,’ as the press named it, became a highlight of the summer season
The first ever horsebox was used from Goodwood to Doncaster for the 1836 St. Leger. Elis arrived fresh and easily won his owner a £12k bet.
"En la rose je fleurie" or "Like the rose, I flourish" is part of the Richmond coat of Arms and motto
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
Ensure you take a little time out together to pause and take in the celebration of all the hard work you put in will be a treasured memory.
Just beyond Goodwood House along the Hillclimb, the 2nd Dukes banqueting house was also known as "one of the finest rooms in England" (George Vertue 1747).
The dining room is host to an original painting from the Goodwood collection of the 6th Duke as a child.
Nick Heidfelds 1999 (41.6s) hillclimb record was beaten after Max Chilton in his McMurtry Spéirling fan car tore it to shreds at 39.08s in 2022!
Spectate from the chicane at the Revival to see plenty of classic cars going sideways as they exit this infamous point of our Motor Circuit.
Spectate from the chicane at the Revival to see plenty of classic cars going sideways as they exit this infamous point of our Motor Circuit.
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
The Fiat S76 or "Beast of Turin" is a Goodwood favourite and can usually be heard before it is seen at #FOS
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
Leading women of business, sport, fashion and media, take part in one of the most exciting horseracing events in the world.
The red & yellow of the Racecourse can be traced back hundreds of years, even captured in our stunning Stubbs paintings in the Goodwood Collection
Leading women of business, sport, fashion and media, take part in one of the most exciting horseracing events in the world.
Leading women of business, sport, fashion and media, take part in one of the most exciting horseracing events in the world.
The first public race meeting took place in 1802 and, through the nineteenth century, ‘Glorious Goodwood,’ as the press named it, became a highlight of the summer season
The red & yellow of the Racecourse can be traced back hundreds of years, even captured in our stunning Stubbs paintings in the Goodwood Collection
From 2005 to present there has been a demonstration area for the rally cars at the top of the hill
The iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
Whoa Simon! A horse so determined and headstrong, he not only won the 1883 Goodwood Cup by 20 lengths, but couldn't be stopped and carried on running over the top of Trundle hill
Whoa Simon! A horse so determined and headstrong, he not only won the 1883 Goodwood Cup by 20 lengths, but couldn't be stopped and carried on running over the top of Trundle hill
The iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
The first thing ever dropped at Goodwood was a cuddly elephant which landed in 1932 just as the 9th Duke of Richmonds passion for flying was taking off.
Flying jetpacks doesn't have to just be a spectator sport at FOS, you can have a go at our very own Aerodrome!
Flying jetpacks doesn't have to just be a spectator sport at FOS, you can have a go at our very own Aerodrome!
Estate milk was once transformed into ice-creams, bombes, and syllabubs, and the Georgian ice house still stands in the grounds in front of Goodwood House.
As the private clubhouse for all of the Estate’s sporting and social members, it offers personal service and a relaxed atmosphere
Ensure you take a little time out together to pause and take in the celebration of all the hard work you put in will be a treasured memory.
The first ever horsebox was used from Goodwood to Doncaster for the 1836 St. Leger. Elis arrived fresh and easily won his owner a £12k bet.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
As the private clubhouse for all of the Estate’s sporting and social members, it offers personal service and a relaxed atmosphere
Easy boy! The charismatic Farnham Flyer loved to celebrate every win with a pint of beer. His Boxer dog, Grogger, did too and had a tendancy to steal sips straight from the glass.
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
The oldest existing rules for the game were drawn up for a match between the 2nd Duke and a neighbour
Inspired by the legendary racer, Masten Gregory, who famously leapt from the cockpit of his car before impact when approaching Woodcote Corner in 1959.
Inspired by the legendary racer, Masten Gregory, who famously leapt from the cockpit of his car before impact when approaching Woodcote Corner in 1959.
Our brief enquiries suggest prices for the legendary Spitfire – in flying order, and surely the dream of every overgrown schoolboy of a certain age – appear relatively modest by comparison.
Turns out there’s a reason, of course. Actually quite a few…
Still, fueled by our big idea and in the spirit of naive unbridled optimism, we popped down to Goodwood Aerodrome to find out what it takes to acquire and run a legendary World War 2 fighter.
Yes, compared to the current cost of a number of classic sports and racing cars, acquiring a Spit can be done on a relatively modest budget. Around £1.2 million gets you a ‘bitsa’ (for want of a more elegant description) and you can pay more than double that for an original aircraft with battle history and which may have been flown by a celebrated war-time pilot.
Looking after the undercarriage, propeller, wiring, hinges, key stress points and so on is of course hugely expensive, certainly compared to a road car. Remember that a Mk IX Spitfire was designed for a total flying life of just 200 hours. So far this year, one of ours has racked up 125 hours…
Naturally you wouldn't be looking to thrash your 75 year old fighter across the sky (come on, yes you would… Ed), but nevertheless our experts say it's best not to stray beyond around one-third throttle on the mighty 27 litre Rolls Royce Merlin. Nor is it advisable to pull more than 4.5g whilst manoeuvring; pull 5G and the aircraft has to undergo an expensive inspection.
The Time Before Overhaul (TBO) on the Merlin used to be 250 hours when the engines were in combat mode. Nowadays with more gentle use that figure is closer to 500 hours. However the cost of said overhaul is £120,000, which is a lot when you consider that a complete, ready-to-fly Merlin should cost in the region of £170,000.
We don't want to contemplate the kind of work involved in repairing a damaged Spitfire. Judging by the premium, neither does the insurance company.
Even with your Spitfire successfully acquired you won't be able to fly it safely without the 50 hours required to gain your Private Pilots Licence, plus another 50 hours in a Chipmunk for basic ‘tail-dragger’ experience, and then another 50 hours flying something like a North American Harvard in which you’ll learn about flaps, variable pitch propellers, retracting the undercarriage and flying from the rear of the aircraft. The latter is very important because from the hot seat in a Spitfire you can't actually see where you're going, which makes landings a trifle challenging. 150 hours by the way is an incredibly short amount of time to learn and you would have to have completed all your training with the academy from day one. If you’ve not trained at the Aerodrome, they’ll want to see something more like 1000 hours on your flying log before they'll even consider handing the controls over.
Back in the day when these aircraft were running at full boost and burning 150 octane fuel at up to full throttle they would get through around 90 gallons (409 litres!) per hour. At ‘cruising’ speed and greatly reduced boost a Spitfire nowadays will make-do with 40 gallons (181 litres) per hour of 100 octane fuel.
(Even at the Goodwood Aerodrome price of £1.89 per litre, that’s still quite a lot more than a decent Goodwood Road & Racing lunch.)