Andrew Willis

BMW nostalgia and automobilia at the Revival

Evoking garages and sales forecourts of old, the March Motor Works presented by BMW encourages the throngs of classic car enthusiasts at Goodwood Revival 2022 to step into a recreation of a bygone, more genteel world.

Creating its own street corner within the Revival site, the March Motor Works is this year made up of three main areas. The first being the ‘Jock West Bavarian Motor Works’, designed to remember the legendary John Milns West, MBE, a British motorcycle racer who later worked as a sales director for BMW.

It was for the German marque that he rode a BMW compressor machine – represented in his Motor Works alongside several other Bayerische Motoren Werke bikes – to victory at the 1937 Ulster Grand Prix. It marked the first time that a non-British motorcycle had won the 500cc class.

West returned the following year to win again in 1938 before finishing second at the 1939 Isle of Man TT with BMW teammate Georg Meier in the Senior TT. He later joined the RAF in WW2 and excelled as a Wing Commander.

Alongside, there is ‘The Carlton Carriage Company’, paying tribute to one of London’s most respected coachbuilders of the 1920s and ‘30s. Pinned to the wall is a pockmarked, rusting enamel sign, billing the business as being ‘post horse masters to His Majesty the King and motor owners’. A tiny detail that holds greater significance this weekend than perhaps the set-designers could ever have imagined.

With a dissected Rolls-Royce having its bodywork hand-rolled and repaired, the whole scene harks back to an artisanal world, perfectly reflecting the contemporary ‘Revive & Thrive’ ethos of the 2022 Goodwood Revival.

Within the wider display, there is also a pair of 1930s Frazer Nash BMWs, the pre-eminent sports cars of the day, that would win international events such as the Mille Miglia. Finally, a couple of BMW Dixis – the first car made by BMW, a variant of the Austin 7 built under license – are included as the Revival this year celebrates the small, accessible car’s 100^th anniversary.

All-in-all, the March Motor Works presented by BMW is a rabbit-hole of quirky, engaging, thought-provoking history and automobilia that requires a keen eye and a bit of healthy digging to unearth all of its significant authenticity and quality.

Photography by Joe Harding, Peter Summers and Toby Whales.