Axon's Automotive Anorak: A few of our favourite things

The results, which can be re-read here, revealed a few surprises, with dream cars including a long-tail McLaren F1 GTR, Tyrrell 006, a 1930s ERA R5B and an Aston Martin DB7, with the guilty pleasure choices giving an even closer insight into the varied tastes of the Goodwood team, ranging from a seven-seater Renault Grand Scenic and Smart Roadster Coupe (an excellent choice in my view as I ran one of these fun and surprisingly versatile mid-engined ‘go-karts’ for a few years), right through to a Husqvarna FC 450 motorcycle!

As a number of the key Goodwood Motorsport Content team were out of the office when Erin took her survey back in the New Year, plus a few more members joining the team since, I thought it timely to revisit the five-plus-one theme to find out what the rest of us Goodwood motoring-types dream about when it comes to cars.

Gary Axon (Goodwood content consultant and concours curator):

As the longest-serving member of the Goodwood Motorsport team, plus the author of this weekly Anorak column, please forgive my self-indulgence if I lead the rest of the crew with my own Top Five choices. As regular readers of Axon’s Automotive Anorak may have already spotted, my personal motoring tastes tend to favour the eclectic (usually French and Italian) so there should be few surprises here. My personal Top Five, plus guilty pleasure, are:

1937 Delahaye 145 Chapron Coupe

A pre-war car was a must for me, with a very tough choice between a 1930s Alfa Romeo 1750 Monza, a Pininfarina-bodied Lancia Astura Bocca, a Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic, or virtually any 1930s grande routier Voisin, Talbot-Lago, Delage or Delahaye, with this beautifully-proportioned V12 Chapron coupe being almost as close to perfection as it gets for me.

1954 Maserati A6G Zagato

The 1950s was arguably the finest decade for road car design in my view, the decade spawning the birth of the classic GT coupe, typified by Pininfarina’s influential Cisitalia 202 and Lancia Aurelia B20 coupe, not to mention Touring’s Alfa Romeo 1900 coupe, the elegant fastback Bentley Continental R, Bristol 401, plus the racy double-bubble Abarth-Fiat Zagato coupes. For pure style tough, the Zagato-bodied 1954-56 Maserati A6G takes some beating, even if I struggle with the car’s awkward too-close-to-the-steering-wheel driving position.  

1967 CD Peugeot SP LM67 (long tail model)

When it comes to style, the unfeasibly slippery CD Peugeot LM67 is the absolute ultimate car for me. With its fish-shaped flowing body (with a staggeringly low Cd of just 0.13, making this the most aerodynamic car ever) and towering aviation-style tail fins, I could stare at this fascinating car for hours. Powered by a 1.1-litre mid-mounted Peugeot 204 engine, the extremely efficient CD could achieve 155 mph with just 108 bhp on tap. The CD Peugeots failed to pass the twelve-hour mark in both the 1966 and 67 Le Mans 24 hour races, but who cares when a machine can be this amazing!

1967 Alfa Romeo Alfa 33 Stradale (quad headlamp model)

Sheer perfection. A stunning race-proven V8 motor mounted where it should be; in the middle, with to-die-for styling. What’s not to like? 

1971 Momo Mirage

With each of my other four top choices being curvaceous machines, the straight-edged Momo Mirage may come as something of a surprise, but in the same vein as the beautiful (to my eyes) 1969 Lancia Flaminia-based Marica coupe by Ghia, plus Pininfarina’s timeless Fiat 130 Coupe, the Frua-bodied Momo has a subtle elegance that still makes me swoon every time I see a photo of this Italian-American hybrid.

Guilty Pleasure:

Citroen 2CV Sahara

For sheer driving pleasure (if you’re not in a rush), the Citroen 2CV still puts the biggest smile on my face, and the twin-engined four-wheel-drive Sahara (with a motor at either end, driving the front and rear wheels) has to be the ultimate expression of this back-to-basics motoring masterpiece, making the versatile, go-anywhere 2CV all the car you could ever need, if you could only have one car. It’s just a shame that rare Sahara models now change hands for £150,000+!

Will Kinsman (Goodwood head of motorsport content)

Will has restricted his Top Five car choice purely to road cars, as he feels he’d struggle to restrict his competition car choice to just five vehicles, although if pushed, he does hanker after a Lotus 49 F1 racer, and if really pushed preferably the 1968 South African Grand Prix car…

Bugatti Type 54 Bachelier Roadster

Every self-respecting car collection should have something pre-war, and this unique car marries the chassis and engine of a Type 54 Grand Prix car with the prettiest body of all Bugattis in Will’s view – the Type 55. 

Bentley Continental R-type

The ultimate in sporting luxury from the 1950s. 

Mini Cooper S Mk III

More understated, and less celebrated, than the Monte Carlo-winning Mk 1, but just as fast, and with the benefit of winding windows and proper door handles. 

Lancia Delta S4 Stradale

‘Unconventionally beautiful’ it may be, but with the boost wound up a bit the S4 has to be the ultimate point-to-point car

McLaren F1

Twenty-five years on, Gordon Murray’s masterpiece is still the greatest car ever made, according to Will.

Guilty Pleasure

Mercedes-Benz 280 Saloon (W114/W115)

For the Algerian taxi driver in all of us…

Matt Hearn (Goodwood event content manager)

Matt’s Top Five cars for now, but subject to constant daily change, like all of us, have a strong competition bias, which is fitting given his role as Goodwood’s motorsport event content manager. Matt’s choices are:

Chaparral 2C

Stunning looks, in-car adjustable rear wing, and early Jim Hall brilliance, the 2C has it all. 

Porsche 911 RSR Turbo 2.1

For the best rear wing ever, according to Matt, and second at Le Mans in 1974.

All American Racers Toyota Celica IMSA GTO

Simple, brutish and effective.

Peugeot 205 T16 Dakar

The most successful Group B rally car can only be improved upon once in Dakar specification

Ferrari 288 GTO

“Because we all need a daily driver!”

Guilty Pleasure

1970s Ford Bronco pickup

Ideally for Matt the 1971 Baja 1000 winner ‘Big Oly Bronco’, raced by Parnelli Jones and Bill Stroppe – because Matt believes everyone needs a pickup truck in their life. I tend to disagree, but…

Ed Foster (Goodwood deputy head of motorsport content) 

Recent recruit Ed’s pockets are evidently much deeper than mine, given his choice of multi-million dollar cars. However, it’s a cracking Top Five, with Ed’s guilty pleasure being a great favourite of mine too. So here goes… 

The Sir Henry Ropner semi-lightweight Jaguar E-Type

Ed’s father owned this significant E-Type for 30 years or so and it’s his life’s ambition to buy it back. Ed doubts he will ever have the money though. Doubt? Who is he kidding he says, he never will.

Ferrari 250 GTO

Ed says “Who wouldn’t want one of these?” It’s difficult to disagree with that.

Bugatti Royale

An ancestor of Ed’s, Cuthbert Foster, owned one when new. Ed says that Royales are ridiculous in the all the right ways. And that a 6ft 7”, he’d probably fit quite comfortably in it. 

Ex-Colin McRae Subaru Impreza WRC

The perfect car for getting around Ed’s family farm in Scotland. Usable (you could park it in the Tesco car park without a problem) and it’s an ex-McRae car. What’s not to like?

Ex-Le Mans Jaguar D-Type

The Subaru’s fuel tank is rubbish so Ed feels he’d need something for the annual Le Mans trip. It would be a handy thing to have for getting race entries as well, including a Revival racing debut perhaps?

Guilty Pleasure 

Fiat Panda Mark I

Although it’s not such a guilty pleasure anymore as Ed’s example is going up in value so quickly. Everyone’s stopped being rude about it. Well, almost everybody. 

Ethan Jupp (GRR production editor)

GRR’s resident keyboard jockey is eclectic of taste, to say the least, and a connoisseur of the UK’s finest driving roads. For him then, it’s all about the driving… From muscle-bound Americana to the most sculpted and exquisite of Italian exotica and everything else in between, let’s take a look…

2004 Pagani Zonda S Roadster

As a young’un, the early Zondas were Ethan’s “Countach” pinup. Watching Richard Hammond tunnel running in the South of France in a deep red example cemented this as his dream car for good. It’s beautifully sculpted 7.3-litre V12 perfection from every angle, in his eyes at least…

2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

A peculiar love affair with GM’s muscle-bound monstrosities combined with the fact that the latest Corvettes seem to be up to scratch makes the new Grand Sport a no-brainer sports GT for Ethan.

Porsche 917-030 Rossi road car

The 917 for Ethan is exotica incarnate. The music of that flat-12 engine and those awe-inspiring yet elegant lines are irresistible for him, yet all born out of a glorious singularity of purpose. That said it’s a shame to confine it to racetracks. That’s why he’d take this specially-made road-faring variant…

Ferrari 365 GTC

A lover of the more subtle offerings of the Scuderia, the 365 GTC is quintessential Ferrari V12 grand touring perfection for Ethan. Without restrictions, it’d be this back-to-back with a 612, but his top 5 needed a Pininfarina classic…

Renault Sport Megane R26R

This is for those point and squirt B road blasts and none do hot hatches like the French. A playful adjustable chassis and an abuse-hungry turbo-4 make this no-compromise weapon virtually without equal for driving fun.

Guilty Pleasure

2015 Chevrolet Silverado HD

A perplexing choice that Ethan feels nowhere near as guilty as he should about. Still, it’s a good load-lugger and sates his nostalgia for his time across the pond. Each to their own…

Josh Barnett (Goodwood motorsport content planner)

For one so young, Josh’s motoring tastes belie his age, as he favours the classic 1950s and 60s era.

Porsche 908/02-005 Spyder LH ‘Flunder’

Low line, long tail, asymmetric colour scheme, fins, howling flat eight engine. What's not to love?

Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe

Life needs more straight eight engines, especially when they're fitted to what is effectively a hardtop, road-legal 1950s Grand Prix racer.

Brabham BT25

It didn't qualify particularly well at the 1969 Indianapolis 500 (163.875mph is still pretty quick!) but this oft-forgotten Brabham racer is one of their most stunning. 

Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta (SWB)

Because the GTO adoration is so passé. Oh, and the 'Short Wheelbase' wins hands down in any beauty contest.

Fiat 8V Zagato

Zagato's most beautiful creation and a hidden Fiat gem, complete with V8 engine. What could possibly go wrong? 

Guilty pleasure

Sunbeam Stiletto

Cooler than a Hillman Imp but, no doubt, with no fewer problems with the air-cooled Coventry Climax engine

(Not guilty enough? Renault 5 (First Generation)) 

So, there you have it, the remainder or the Goodwood team have chosen their top five, with a thoroughly diverse selection of road and competition machinery. Let us know what you think of our top five selections if you bump into us at the Revival, and please let us hear your own personal choices, including your guilty pleasures!