Goodwood Festival of Speed central feature to celebrate 70 years of Porsche

Historic German marque Porsche will celebrate seven decades of sportscar manufacture at this summer’s Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard – the annual motoring and motorsporting extravaganza in the grounds of Goodwood House.

And as part of its exciting programme of events to commemorate a lineage of world-beating road and racing sportscars that began with the 356 in 1948, Porsche will be the first manufacturer in the 25-year history of FOS to feature for the third time on the world-famous Central Feature in front of the house during the July 12-15 event.

Twenty years ago, Porsche celebrated its 50th anniversary with a stunning display of five of its most celebrated sports-racers, the 917-20, 917LH, 936, 956 and 911 GT1, and five years ago the 50th anniversary of the 911 was commemorated with a sky-scraping and kaleidoscopic structure – once again conceived by Gerry Judah.

In addition to what’s sure to be another eye-catching static display, this time featuring road and race cars, a dedicated class of the finest Stuttgart-conceived machines will run on the Hillclimb course, the backbone of the event since its inception in 1993.

Expect to see many of the World Sportscar Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours winners, in prototype and GT guise, as well as Grand Prix, IndyCar and rally weapons from Porsche’s back-catalogue getting an airing during the sell-out weekend. They’ll be joined by class-leading production machines in the special batch and in the traditional and hugely popular Michelin Supercar Run.

Event founder and host The Duke of Richmond and Gordon is delighted Porsche will be back at FOS in style in this joint-anniversary year.

“Porsche has been one of our most loyal and enthusiastic partners, supporting the Festival of Speed since 1995, and the Revival since 2010,” he said. “This year Porsche will become the first manufacturer to create the central display at the Festival for the third time, underlining the huge contribution from this iconic manufacturer of world-beating racing cars and road cars.”

Alexander Pollich, Managing Director of Porsche Cars Great Britain, added: “We thought long and hard about how best to celebrate the 70th anniversary of our sports car and how we could share this with enthusiasts, Porsche fans and owners here in the UK. The Goodwood Festival of Speed will be the perfect setting – allowing the cars that, over seven decades, have made Porsche so unique and so special, to be seen, and heard, in action. Watching a 917 twitch and weave its way past the flint wall is a highlight that I’m very much looking forward to this July.”

Porsche’s presence at FOS this summer won’t be limited to the Hillclimb and Central Feature. The firm’s stand will showcase its full range of production cars, with a glimpse into the technology of the future. Visitors will be able to experience an exhilarating ride in the all-new Cayenne as well as take part in virtual races on hi-tech simulators.

Full details of the exciting line-up of Porsche legends – men and machines – due to take part in the 70th anniversary festivities will be announced in the coming weeks.