FOS 2017 Central Feature – Everything you need to know

Giant Catherine Wheel? The Goodwood Eye? Everyone will have their own moniker for it, but whatever you know it as, you sure won’t miss it. The massive circle, 35m tall and studded with priceless Formula 1 cars, is one of the most imposing automotive sculptures yet to take its place in front of Goodwood House.  

The five cars, looking as precarious as ever high above the lawn, have been chosen to celebrate Bernie Ecclestone’s five decades of involvement in Grand Prix racing.  

Each car has a link to a different aspect of Bernie Ecclestone’s career, such as the Connaught – for which he was entered as driver in two F1 races in the 1958 season – and the championship-winning Brabham, from the period when he was Brabham team owner.

The other cars in this year’s Central Feature are a Lotus, Ferrari and Mercedes, reflecting his time in Formula 1 management, which culminated as F1 chief executive. Today, Bernie Ecclestone is Chairman Emeritus of Formula One Group. 

It is these cars then, and the gleaming white circle on which they are placed, that provide the sculptural backdrop for this year’s Festival of Speed. It is a sight destined to be reproduced millions of times in pictures and posts, newspapers and magazines, in every corner of the world as the emblematic image of the world’s greatest motoring garden party. 

As ever, the story of the Central Feature and how it came to be is a fascinating one. Here then is this year’s Central Feature in the, er, round…

What was the brief?

“The brief is always to come up with something as big, dynamic and dangerous looking as possible – and this year to feature five cars,” says the designer Gerry Judah. “It has to fit with the energy of the Festival of Speed and it has to make people go….WOW!” 

Sounds like Gerry has done them before. 

This is the 21st Central Feature designed by the eminent sculptor, working closely with Lord March. Gerry’s first FoS Central Feature was to mark 50 years of Ferrari in 1997. 

Must be difficult making them different each time? 

“They have to be different but at the same time they have to be in the tradition of the Festival of Speed,” says Gerry. “Because I'm a sculptor and not a petrolhead, I can do things with the cars that a racing fan probably wouldn’t; to give them a sense of speed, energy and danger. The Central Feature needs to look dangerous. I’d say this one looks dangerous.”

Er, it’s not going to fall over is it? 

Unlikely. Like all previous Central Features since the Rolls-Royce “wings” in 2004, it has been made down the road from Goodwood at Littlehampton Welding. So this is their 14th creation for FoS, lovingly created out of a great deal of sheet steel – and very, very strong. As Littlehampton Welding’s Steve Fallick says, “It’s proper engineering!" 

How was it made then? 

The circle is made up of eight box-section segments, each curved a little and tapering in profile, so the circle is thicker on one side than the other. From this circle five arms shoot out – a bit like the sparks flying out of a spinning Catherine Wheel – to which the cars, either upside down or vertical, are attached. 

Sounds easy. 

Getting the cars on and off is the tricky bit. Each car has to be craned into and out of position, with the top first and then pivoting from the top, then swinging upside down to get the correct angle so the wheels slot into their positions. 

And exactly how are these priceless F1 beauties secured? 

Would you believe straps around the wheels? It’s true. There are safety wires as well, just in case. 

The finished article is very smooth and white…

So it should be. Each piece of sheet steel was laser-cut for precision (and to reduce wastage) before being welded into the box-section segments, which were then shot blasted, holes filled, sanded down, primed and painted. It is very smooth and white. 

And the whole lot just sits there on the grass?  

There’s a bit more to it than that. The heaviest segment of the circle, at 16 tonnes, is the base piece which is bolted to a frame set in foundations deep under the immaculate Goodwood grass. “This piece basically holds everything up,” says Steve Fallick. The circle’s torsional rigidity isn’t complete though until the top “keystone” segment is put in place. 

Anything different in getting it up this year? 

For the first time, no welding was needed on site to put it up. All the sections were designed to bolt together which made it a lot quicker to assemble – and will make it quicker to take down after the Festival. 

What will happen to it when it does comes down? 

As Littlehampton Welding’s Steve tells us, the Central Feature is designed as a temporary structure. So, like the vast majority of previous FoS Central Features, the cars are returned to their owners and the materials are recycled. 

But not before we’ve all been bowled over by it. 

“We hope so,” says Steve Fallick. “I know it gives us all a big kick to go to the Festival of Speed and see it in position. Part of Littlehampton Welding’s philosophy is to bring in apprentices to work on the Goodwood sculpture each year and they just love going to FoS and seeing their handiwork being the centre of attention.” 

And what is Gerry Judah’s verdict now it is in place? 

“I think it’s got the Wow Factor for sure, but as ever it's the visitors who decide.”

And finally, the 2017 Central Feature by numbers…

4000 man hours to fabricate (plus design time) 

1200 litres (244 gallons) of paint used

500 bolts 

300 tonne capacity crane to put it up 

79m (260ft) internal circumference

65 tonnes total weight

35m (115ft) high

25m (82ft) diameter

20 people to fabricate it, including four apprentices

16 tonnes heaviest base segment

8 steel box sections

8 people to erect on site

6 weeks to put up

5 Formula 1 cars 

3 cranes needed for assembly 

2 weeks to take down

Photography by Tom Shaxson