Whether you believe sports racing cars should bear a resemblance to their road-going relations, like the Porsche 911 RSR and Jaguar E-type Lightweight, or be built for one purpose only, step forward Lola T92/10, there’s plenty to get stuck into at the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard.
5 sportscars you can't miss at FOS
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Porsche LMP2000
For over a decade, its very existence was denied by Porsche – but at FOS you can see the car they intended to take to Le Mans at the turn of the millennium. The LMP2000, also known by its internal codename 9R3, used a V10 engine from a stillborn F1 project. When the Le Mans bid was cancelled, the engine was all that lived on – in the Carerra GT road car. Porsche lifted its ban on acknowledging the LMP2000 a couple of years ago, and now you can see this unicorn for real yourself at Goodwood.
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Jaguar E-type Lightweight “lowdrag” coupe
The svelte lines of the E-type Lightweight ‘lowdrag’ coupé will be a highlight of our celebration of 70 years of the XK. Arguably the best looking version of a universally adored shape, it takes its place in a class that also includes more than one XK120, numerous D-types and other versions of the legendary E-type.
Lola T92/10
There was Group C royalty – Porsche 956, Nissan R92, Jaguar XJR-9 – and then there were the lesser-known cars that are less frequently seen, discussed and written about. Enter stage left the 1992 Lola T92/10. It didn’t have the most illustrious competition career, but it makes up for it with the sheer spectacle of its (super high downforce) wedge shape. One to look out for.
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‘Pink Pig’ Porsche 911 RSR
Fresh from its GTE class win at the Le Mans 24-hour is the ‘Pink Pig’ 911 RSR. It was one of two of the mid-engine 911 racers in retro livery, the other evoking the Rothmans 956 (but without mentioning the cigarette brand, of course).
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Renault Alpine A442B
Sometimes you have to dust yourself off and come back stronger. Having failed to finish the Le Mans 24-hour in 1977, Renault Alpine put the A442 through a thorough development programme and came back to win, comprehensively beating strong opposition from Porsche. Forty years on from that victory, and with a new Renault Alpine road car in production, the A442B will take to the Goodwood hill.
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