Land Rover at 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed
It may have been Porsche that was the celebrated marque at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year, but Land Rover stole the show – at least on the opening day!
On 13 July, the first day of four-day celebration of all things new, classic, cool, fast and fun in motoring, the Land Rover parade made event history.
With 70 Land Rovers – from a reproduction of the first to the most recent – taking part, the convoy was the largest single group of vehicles to ever parade lap up Goodwood’s famous hillclimb course.
Prototype and ‘Huey’
Leading the convoy was a recreation of the very first Land Rover – a Centre Steer prototype – with ‘HUE 166’, the original and first Series I pre-production prototype from 1948, alongside.
As has been well documented, the Series I was such a success that it spawned the Series II and Series III Land Rovers, with these first three generations represented by 25 vehicles in the parade. A Series III Landie became the millionth sold, 28 years after the first prototype.
The actual millionth car appeared in the parade, as part of a group that included fire engines, SAS vehicles, aircraft crash rescue and African expedition heroes – demonstrating the breadth of versatility of Land Rover over the years.
Rangie Represented, Disco Delights
Behind the original Land Rovers, all four generations of Range Rover featured in the convoy, too, including a Trans-Americas Expedition example which famously crossed the Darien Gap in 1971 and proved the “luxury” Range Rover was still capable when and where it mattered.
A more recent Range Rover was represented in the form of a 2004 example that’s still used by Cheshire Police in the UK.
Also present was the Land Rover Discovery, showcased with an example of each of the five generations of the nameplate, including the first Discovery built, a round-the-world expedition car and the millionth Discovery to roll off the line.
Modern Articles
Representing Land Rover’s latest crop of off-road vehicles was an example of each of the current line-up; Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Evoque and Evoque Convertible.
Speaking at the parade, Jaguar Land Rover UK Sales Director, Scott Dicken said: “As we continue to celebrate Land Rover’s 70th Anniversary throughout 2018, today was a real highlight. The vast breadth of vehicles here, from fire engines, tow trucks, to expedition vehicles demonstrated the capability that is core to Land Rover name.”
The full list of Land Rover models which took part is as follows: Land Rover Series I Centre Steer Replica, Land Rover Series I, Land Rover Series II, Land Rover Series III, Land Rover Defender, Range Rover Classic, Range Rover (Mk2), Range Rover (Mk3), Range Rover (Mk4), Range Rover Sport (Mk1), Range Rover Sport (Mk2), Land Rover Discovery (Mk1), Land Rover Discovery (Mk2), Land Rover, Discovery (Mk3), Land Rover Discovery (Mk4), Land Rover Discovery (Mk5), Land Rover Discovery, Sport, Land Rover Freelander (Mk1), Land Rover Freelander (Mk2), Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Evoque Convertible, Range Rover Velar.
Two-wheel Range Rover?
A “parade” of a very different sort also took place at Goodwood when UK stunt driver Terry Grant smashed a world record in the new Range Rover Sport SVR – on two wheels. Terry’s time of 2 minutes 24.5 seconds up the 1.16 mile (1.86 kilometre) Goodwood hillclimb course broke his 2011 record for a mile travelled in a car on two wheels by more than 30 seconds.
With the only modifications to the Range Rover Sport SVR being a tweak to the differential and more pressure in the loaded tyres, Grant flipped the SUV up on to two wheels with the use of a ramp to start his run, then negotiated the hillclimb’s corners and hit speeds of up 60mph (96.5kph) as he set the new Guinness World Record time.
The speed is hardly surprising, as the SVR is powered by a 428kW V8, capable of 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds (0-100kph in 4.4) and a top speed of almost 280kph – with four wheels on the road, at least!
After failing to complete the full hillclimb course on two wheels in his first four attempts, Grant snatched the record in a dramatic last gasp attempt on the Festival of Speed’s final day.
“It really shouldn’t be underestimated how difficult a two-wheeled speed run like this is; you are always fighting to keep the car balanced right on the edge, as it tries to tip either one way or the other,” Grant said.
“You need to be conscious of everything, from the camber of the road to the strength of the wind. Thankfully, conditions were excellent and the Range Rover Sport SVR was the perfect precision tool for the job.”
