Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche... three legendary names occopy four of our top 5 sportscars at this weekend's Goodwood Revival Meeting, and yet there were so many more we could have chosen. How closely would this list match your own top 5? It wasn't easy to draw up this shortlist...
The 5 sportscars you can't miss at Revival
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Lagonda V12 Le Mans
Still using the Lagonda design, Aston Martin introduced the new 'DB3S' sports racer at the start of the 1953 race season. To fight for coveted outright victories, though, Aston Martin needed a considerably larger engine. The problem was that there was no road-going Aston Martin model in which to fit it. Impressed in particular by Ferrari's engines, Brown commissioned Willie Watson to develop a V12 engine with a capacity of 4.5 litres. A similar body to that of the DB3S was fitted, although with three separate front air intakes. Chassis DP115/1 was first raced at the Silverstone International Trophy finishing fifth overall, it also competed in the 1954 Le Mans 24 Hours.
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Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan
Equipped with the Comp/61 pack in period, chassis number 2819 eschews the usual ‘SEFAC hot rod’ moniker thanks to its remarkable coachwork. Run to second in the 1961 Tour de France by Ecurie Francorchamps, the car was sold to Count Volpi’s Scuderia Serenissima outfit at the end of the year. Volpi – denied a new Ferrari 250 GTO by Enzo thanks to his part in the abortive ATS F1 effort – tasked Giotto Bizzarrini with upgrading chassis number 2819 into a GTO beater ahead of the 1962 season. Making wholesale changes to the body, suspension and engine, Bizzarrini’s distinctive Kamm-tail design – put into metal by renowned coachbuilder, Piero Drogo – was dubbed the ‘Breadvan’ by English-speaking media. At Le Mans, chassis number 2819 initially raced away from the GTOs however, a driveshaft failure in the fourth hour led to its retirement.
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Ferrari 250 SWB
Arguably one of the most important GT cars in the world, this 250 GT SWB/C was raced by Stirling Moss for Rob Walker in period, and was described by him as “the finest GT car ever”. It’s the second of two such cars, the 1960 model is also here at the Revival, and this chassis was used by Moss to win the Goodwood Tourist Trophy – his seventh and last, the Silverstone British Empire Trophy, the Brands Hatch Peco Trophy and the Nassau Tourist Trophy. The car also ran at Le Mans with Graham Hill at the wheel, taking the GT lap record in the process. This is the Ferrari that Moss won the most races in and was also the car he used for his final win – the Nassau TT – prior to his career-ending accident at Goodwood in 1962.
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Aston Martin Project 212
This is the first of the famous Aston Martin Project cars, built in 1961 for the following season. It ran second in the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hours, with Graham Hill and Richie Ginther at the wheel, before retiring with piston problems. During the race the drivers experienced high-speed lift so the tail was shortened and a spoiler added for 1963. It was then rebuilt by the works in 1964 and fitted with a 4.2-litre engine and 15-inch wheels. It won the Wiscombe Hillclimb with Mike Salmon driving the car and the pair went on to finish second in the Brighton Speed Trials. Used for club racing between 1968 and ’81, it was then raced in the first Revival meeting in 1998.
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Porsche 910
First used in a handful of European Hill Climb events in 1966, the Porsche 910 was a development of the 906 introduced earlier that year. The major change was a switch to cast magnesium centre-lock wheels (as used in F1), aimed at improving the speed of pitstops in endurance races. Usually equipped with a 200bhp version of Porsche’s 2-litre flat six, the 910 was also fitted – on rare occasions – with a 270hp, 2.2-litre flat eight. Raced exclusively with a flat six, chassis 910-005 was run by the factory in the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring. Driven by Gerhard Mitter and Scooter Patrick, the car would start down in 11th, outgunned in qualifying by the big V8 machinery from Ford and Chaparral. However, aided by its impressive reliability, 910-005 would rise through the ranks during the race, eventually crossing the line in third overall (winning the 2-litre class comprehensively in the process).
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