SOC Goodwood Track Day: PH Gallery
Not a fan of rare supercars posing in the city? Here are some unicorns taking to the track...
Last year we introduced you to the ultra-exclusive car club Supercar Owners Circle, as we followed them on their rally in the Swiss Alps, and then again at one of the most mind-blowing car collections on the planet, the SBH Royal Auto Gallery in Abu Dhabi. Well last week they were at it again, however, this time much closer to home. Ordinarily, a track day at Goodwood is by no means newsworthy, they occur pretty much every week, but this was no ordinary track day...
I arrived at an eerily quiet Goodwood Motor Circuit, almost hard to believe that it was the same venue that hosts the Members' Meeting and Revival. Any doubts were quickly forgotten as I took a left out of the tunnel and into the paddock. German cars seemed to be the overwhelming theme, mainly Mercedes and Porsche. I'm not talking about SLs or 911s though... The first things to catch my attention were a couple of CLKs as it happens, CLKs with three extra letters that is. The first being a DTM, limited to only 100 units, and really very cool. The second was a little bit rarer and a little bit cooler still, a one of 25 CLK GTRs built to homologate the '90s Le Mans car. Casually parked next to them was an SLR 722, and its bonkers brother the SLR Stirling Moss. Things had started well.
I mentioned the CLK GTR homologation special, and it really is rare to see cars like that, especially being driven. So obviously there was also a Porsche 996 GT1 Straßenversion in attendance, one of only 20 built to homologate Porsche's '90s Le Mans racer. I was pretty much done at this point, was there anything else I could see that would top that? Well, it's safe to say the other cars there certainly tried...
As the day got going and cars started to head out onto the track, it soon became apparent that there was some seriously special kit kicking about. There wasn't an overwhelming number of cars there, however, the ones that were made Sloane Street on a Sunday look like Morrisons' car park. In no particular order there was a dark purple/blue McLaren P1, a pair of 720Ss that guests were welcome to drive around the track under the instruction of racing drivers from McLaren, a very rare Lexus LFA Nürburgring, an original Jaguar C-Type, a blisteringly quick Mercedes Benz AMG GT4 race car, a Singer 911 that shot flames from its exhausts along the pit straight, and brand new 991.2 GT3 and GT2RS.
Quite the selection then, and to top it off David Coulthard was hanging around the pits giving racing tips to the drivers on the day. The real stars of the show however, were heard before they were seen. Hypercar manufactures Zenvo and Apollo were in attendance to showcase their latest and most outrageous creations, the TSR-S and IE respectively. So out of this world, and ridiculously loud were these cars, that every single session I watched they were black flagged for exceeding Goodwood's strict noise limits. The Zenvo resembled a twin-supercharged missile with a wing on the back that flaps around (on purpose) when it goes around corners. The Apollo on the other hand, finished in purple carbon with gold wheels, screams like an old F1 car, helped mostly by its Aston Martin derived 769hp V12, and bespoke 3D printed titanium exhaust system. Only ten IEs will ever be made, each costing a heart attack inducing $2.7million! A small price to pay I suppose when you're the guy that already owns a CLK GTR and SLR Stirling Moss, and needs something the neighbours won't have...
Supercar Owners Circle at Goodwood was definitely one of the more exciting track days I've been to, and I probably should have mentioned that the entire day was in aid of the Laureus Sport for Good charity, raising over £50,000. Small change for some of those involved I'm sure, but certainly enough to make a significant difference to those who need it most.
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