The 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed is going to be a heavily Porsche-dominated affair, what with the 911’s
50th birthday
taking centre stage at the event. PH attended the Goodwood preview event yesterday and among the many 911s on show to tease the featured marque status was this lovely little short-wheelbase race car, christened the ‘Project 50’ by Porsche GB.
Project 50 racer prepped by Porsche GB race team
A 1965 911, this car was apparently originally sold in Italy, albeit in right-hand drive form. After a period in America it moved to the UK, was prepped for FIA historic racing and has been acquired by Porsche GB to contest Masters Series historic events, the Nurburgring OldTimer GP and Silverstone Classic. Those at the wheel will include Richard Attwood and, it says here, “some other surprise guest drivers.”
After an overhaul at Porsche Classic in Germany the Project 50 race car will be run by Porsche GB’s motorsport team, which will provide a bit of a change from the GT3 Cup cars they’re more used to working on.
Making the nearby 991 look a bit fat and bloated, and stark in its purity and simplicity alongside the brutal looking 911 GT1, it was sharing Lord March’s lawn with, Project 50’s daintiness is a reminder of how far the 911 has come in half a century. And it looks like a heap of possibly slightly twitchy fun. It’ll be joined at the Festival of Speed in July by Porsche’s 1967 911, which is currently on a world tour to promote the model’s half century. The trip includes stops at Pebble Beach, China and Australia, and can be followed at porsche.com/follow-911.
Porsche is featured marque at Goodwood
Predictably these won’t be the only 911s, or Porsches, coming to Goodwood in July and with the 911-themed sculpture as a centrepiece you’ll never be far from something with a flat-six in its rump. ‘Significant’ 911s from the Porsche museum – hopefully including the mad four-wheel drive 1984 Dakar Rothmans rally car seen yesterday – will be joining the party alongside others from private owners and collections. Racing Porsches of all types will be there too.
And, whisper it, if Porsches aren’t quite your thing, there will of course be plenty of other stuff there too…