The 6 most beautiful cars to see at 80MM | GRR
Beautiful cars are to Goodwood historic race meetings what potholes are to the British road network: numerous and never far away, though some are more spectacular than others. So while we could cop out and put down six or seven different Jaguar E-types, you know both that they’re beautiful and often at Goodwood in great numbers. Each of this very special sextet will either take a bit more seeking out, are a special appearance at the 80th Members' Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport, or are just plain worth a moment of your time to glance around, should you stumble on one in the paddocks. So let’s get into them.
1. Aston Martin DBR9 Gulf
The Aston Martin DBR9 could be the star of the show in the 2000s GT1 demo with its spectacular V12, which will sound all the sweeter given there’s going to be seven of them howling around the Motor Circuit. It’s also incredibly beautiful. Has a GT racer melded the purpose of motorsport with the beauty of the road car on which it’s based quite so effectively ever since? The Vantages are up there, as is the Mercedes-AMG GT, but none top the DBR9. For the drama and the sheer epicness of the colour scheme, we’re going to nominate the Gulf car too, driven by our old friend Jack Tetley, from the Rofgo collection.
2. Gordon Murray Automotive T.33 Spider
One of the guiding principles of GMA for its products is a return to beauty. The T.33 Spider, debuting to the public at 80MM, is no exception and as such, is quite the opposite of the standard hypercar fare. There are no wings, no cannards, no vortex generators and no harsh lines at all really. It’s drop-dead from almost every angle, aping Abarth and Alfa Romeo sports racers of the 1960s with exceptional class, without being passé or cliched. In other words, it’s a properly beautiful modern supercar, even at a race meeting among classics.
3. Cegga-Ferrari 250TR
Another properly unique sight to see is this Ferrari 250TR, raced originally under the Scuderia Cegga outfit, Cegga being a contraction of the first letters of the founder’s names. One one-off Scaglietti bodywork of the original was recreated for this revival, which is a faithful rebuild based on 250 underpinnings featuring Cegga’s innovative and radical suspension and differential changes from the period. What a stunning thing this will be on the grid of the Salvadori Cup, with its singing Colombo V12 and open top. An appropriate follow-up to the T.33 on this list then.
4. Lotus Elite
Sticking along the lines of Gordon Murray, we have one of the favourite cars of the man himself. Numerous in the Moss Trophy, a small swarm of Lotus Elites will be taking on the Jaguar E-types, Ferraris and Aston Martins. Next to them, the little Lotuses will be positively miniature and featherweight, by comparison. That’s where Murray’s love for them comes from, that they’re so small, light, simple and beautiful. We happen to think he has a point, there’s real beauty in their simplicity.
5. Ford GT40 Roadster
A cheap win? Perhaps. But with the debut of the GMA T.33 Spider at Members’ Meeting this year, we thought it best to celebrate the roadsters of the meeting, a crop within which, like the T.33 Spider, the GT40 Roadster is unique. One of just five built, this is a 1965 works Prototype, stunning in its pastel green hue. The sound of that blood-curdling V8 must be unreal from the driver’s seat with no roof.
6. Porsche 911 RSR
The expression ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ is never more applicable, than when discussing various Porsche 911s and their aesthetics. Is a 935 beautiful? Absolutely not. The GT1? Nope. The new GT3? A little short. We will say however, that the original RSRs, with their broadened hips, bulging tyre sidewalls, jutting chin intake and trumpets exhausts, really really are. A few will be demonstrating in the Porsche 911 demo, adding some aggressively-flavoured elegance to proceedings we suspect.
The 80th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport takes place on the 15th and 16th April 2023, and you can watch every second of the action right here on GRR.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images, Jordan Butters, James Lynch and Dean Grossmith