Coachbuilt specials to feature at Revival's March Motor Works

Always a key feature of any Goodwood Revival, this year March Motor Works will closely resemble a mid-Sixties London Mews-style garage for the 18th year of the event’s running. As usual it can be found adjacent to the Earls Court Motor Show building and the Richmond Lawn.

The machinery will be presented by the BMW Group and will include some breathtaking examples from Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mini. For the weekend of the Revival a Thames Ditton BMW dealership, formerly run by Le Mans 24 Hour winner Roy Salvadori, will be recreated. Langley Motors will contain a stunning and incredibly rare BMW 2000CS coupe with bodywork by Karmann as well as a BMW ‘Blue Ribbon’ service bay.

March Mews SW1 will house a Rolls-Royce display with a remarkable Silver Cloud Countryman as its main feature. The Countryman was a very special motor car which featured just about every luxury extra produced by Harold Radford Coachbuilders Ltd. When we say ‘extras’ we’re referring not merely to the likes of electric windows, but instead crystal wine and water glasses, picnic tables with stools, towels, hangars, hand-tufted carpets, cocktail cabinets, a wash basin, electric kettle… We could go on, but these and the rest of the Countryman’s appointments make it arguably still one of the most exclusive cars on the planet and we absolutely cannot wait to see it.

As special as the Rolls-Royce is though, it might be potentially upstaged by another product of the Radford Coachworks. In 1963 the firm announced such a thing as a Mini de Ville; the most opulently-equipped of which came with a full-width fascia, speaker balance control, enhanced lighting, electric windows, a centre arm rest and full leather interior, lambs wool carpets, soundproofing… As with the Countryman this was a vehicle oozing bespoke luxury. It came as no surprise that these very special Minis soon found homes with such luminaries as Peter Sellers, Paul McCartney and Steve McQueen. 

Of course, March Motor Works wouldn’t be complete without paying homage to the world of two wheels and to this end there will be on display two variants of BMW’s superlative R69S motorcycles; a solo and a combination example. Some considered this machine to be the motorcycling world’s equivalent to a Rolls-Royce. Others thought them superior even to Britain’s finest car …

With just weeks to go now until the Revival, news of the March Motor Works has brought with it something of a giddy air of expectation to the GRR office. Just wait until we get started on the on-track attractions …