The Coolest Cars and People at the 2024 Goodwood Reunion

The Goodwood Revival is an astonishing event. Now in its 26th year, the event has ballooned to host not only the greatest historic racing on the planet, but also among the largest gathering of period recreationists. As ever, this year's event celebrated cars from 1948 to 1966, and the thousands of attendees were dressed to suit.

Among a sea of impossibly rare, inconceivably valuable machines driven at breakneck speeds, it was hard to pick favorites, but here are a few of the cars and people that caught my eye.

Adrian Newey's GT40

In 2022, Adrian Newey's Jaguar E-Type turned heads thanks to Jenson Button obliterating the competition before the car obliterated its own gearbox and ground to a halt. This year, though, Newey's other entry caught my eye: his 1965 Ford GT40. It's the same car he recently shared with Ford CEO Jim Farley at the Daytona Historic 24. The thing just looked perfectly clean and cool, wearing number 5 in a basic, white, and red logo and sitting on period-look 15-inch Dunlop Racing tires. But the shattered foglight cover, the destroyed paint on the nose, and the patina on those dual fuel caps gave it a genuinely purposeful appeal that tugged on my heartstrings. This is clearly no trailer queen.

Team Ikuzawa Porsche 904

For anyone with an eye for Japanese style and an appreciation for all-things Porsche, the Team Ikuzawa Porsche 904 was one of the most luscious cars on the track during the Revival weekend. It was a partnership with artist Daniel Arsham, who had a pop-up experience shop stocked with lovely hoodies, hats, and even full racing suits that sorely tempted my wallet but were sadly priced too high for my budget. Driven by a father and son driver pairing of Emanuele and Goffredo Pirro, the car sadly didn't have much success on the track. It finished 20th in the Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration race, but Revival is as much about looking good as anything, and few cars looked better out there on track.

1963 Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight

Where the Ikuzawa Porsche 904 made the most impact for its eye-catching looks, the 1963 Ford Galaxie Lightweight driven by professional racer Romain Dumas and owner Bill Shepherd opened people's eyes for its outrageous performance. In Saturday's St. Mary's Trophy race, Dumas steamrolled through the pack, starting last and finishing third, just a fraction of a second behind second. On Sunday, owner Bill Shepherd finished the deal, taking the win in part two and giving the team the overall victory. The 427-powered Galaxie was one of roughly 200 Lightweight models produced, so huge it looked like a flying aircraft carrier compared to the tiny Minis that dotted the track around it. Watching Dumas roar through the little traffic was a marvelous sight, well worth the trip to England alone. 

Meyers Manx

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Meyers Manx, and the little things were absolutely everywhere. Hundreds of the open-wheel buggies lined up, covered in the mud that dominated the grounds, a field of dirty Skittles that would make anyone want to taste the rainbow. The Duke of Richmond is said to be quite a fan of the marque, which is returning this year with a new, electric model. But most of those on display were powered by more traditional means, muffled by barely-there exhausts that echoed and cracked with less restraint than most of the race cars. 

1969 Volkswagen Baja Beetle

This Baja Bug caught my eye because, well, as a fan of Tamiya models, how could it not? A real-life incarnation of the iconic radio-controlled Sand Scorcher, this car was built by a team behind Get Your Classic. After a thorough restoration, it initially debuted at the 2022 F.A.T. Ice Race. At Goodwood, it was in excellent company amid the many Meyers Manxes but stood out from the Goodwood Revival paddock as an oddly upright, friendly face compared to the rest of the laid-back grand prix racers around it.

Best Dressed

With something like 140,000 people there, the vast majority in period dress, it was hard to choose favorites. It was more the trends I saw that made me smile, one of the biggest being people in their absolute finest attire strutting around in their filthiest boots. Waders and ballroom gowns don't typically pair well, but there wasn't much alternative with the intermittent rains turning much of the Goodwood grounds into a mire.

It was also incredibly charming to see whole families all out together, decked to the nines and having an absolute ball. Some went so far as to show up with things like period-correct baby carriages, but a quick look showed that some of those carriages had a different sort of sensitive cargo.

While most people simply picked a period or culture to join, many attendees were more specific, including a gentleman dressed up as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, complete with a white-mained cat. But I confess that my favorite outfits were the simplest: the folks dressed in period mechanics wear. Simple coveralls festooned with vintage patches and many carrying period-correct oil stains as well. I see a getup like this in my own future.