Six stunning sportscars to see at 78MM (List) | GRR
The Members’ Meeting always features a fabulous selection of historic racing machinery from a variety of eras, even beyond those of Goodwood’s golden era. We’ve had everything from Group 5 to LMP1 take to the circuit, in between eclectic grids of historic racers battling for glory. So here’s a list of the coolest sportscars you can expect to see on track at 78MM.
Jaguar XJR-15
We start with the big Jags. We’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the one-make race series for Jaguar’s Group C refugee supercar. With a carbon tub, a monster V12 and sleek Peter Stevens lines, it’s one not to miss as it demonstrates its pace.
Ferrari 275 GTB/C
Of course while the demos give a glimpse at machinery rarely seen on track at our flagship events, the races are the star attraction, especially given they feature cars like this. The Ferrari 275 GTB/C was the next iteration of the Scuderia’s ‘60s racing gran turismos, with aerodynamic lessons learned from the GTO and broader more muscular 3.3-litre engine. You can see it in the Ronnie Hoare Trophy, as it battles 911s, TVRs, Triumphs, Lotuses and more.
Abarth Simca 2000 Corsa
Also in the Ronnie Hoare and also of Italian parentage but from much further left field, is the Abarth Simca 2000 Corsa. This wonderful thrumming racer is peak featherweight Italian sports prototype, with elegant curves made of wafer-thin alloy coachwork. It together with the Ferrari adds a splash of classical Italian elegance to the Ronnie Hoare grid.
Penske-Zerex Special
The Zerex Special is one of those oddities from an era of mend and make do, in that it was once a single-seater Cooper. Following something of a crunch, a Mr Roger Penske bought it up, bodied it a sportscar, raced it in Formula Libre and then moved it on the a Mr Bruce McLaren. Quite the history and it’ll be at the 78th Members’ Meeting battling sports prototypes in the Gurney Cup.
Scarab-Chevrolet Mk1
Though originally intended to race in the World Sportscar Championship, a 3.0-litre engine size cap for the 1958 season shut the V8-engined Scarab-Chevrolet out. This weekend it’ll be joining Listers, Jaguars, Coopers and Ferraris in the Salvadori Cup, racing on this side of the pond with its European contemporaries as originally intended. Definitely worth a look.
Lotus Elite 2.0-litre Le Mans
Lotus’s original grand touring road car didn’t go long before getting the racing treatment. The Lotus Elite Le Mans swapped the 1.2-litre Climax motor for a 2.0-litre with a bit more legs for Mulsanne duty. It’ll be interesting to see how Colin Chapman’s hot-rodded GT fares against ‘standard’ examples, and indeed the E-types, Ferrari 250s, and more that’ll be joining it in the Moss Trophy.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images, Scarab image by Nick Dungan.