I’m 47, and when I duck my head to clear the helicopter door, rotors going like the clappers, I can still hear my right knee click as I drop into the seat. The pilot or one of my fellow passengers may have thought I was spastically snapping my fingers; it was that loud.
I hurt that knee, hilariously, nine years ago when playing basketball at my 20-year high school reunion (Go WOHS!) – a partial tear of my MCL that really messed with my jumper, and today nudges me about my mortality every time I drop into the seat of a low sports car (or helicopter).
Thankfully, there’s a good reason for bending the knee (so to speak) and riding on an aircraft that doesn’t glide: I’m joining my friends at Subaru in their yearly, nearly miraculous, trip to the Goodwood Revival.
Irreplaceable Cars, Fierce Drivers, And Racing In The Rain
Revival is a vintage racing event like no other, featuring cars from 1948 through 1966 – the original active period of the Goodwood Circuit – with a heaping helping of cosplay. Attendees are encouraged to dress in clothing from one of the relevant eras, and most do, with costumes ranging from WWII uniforms (Goodwood was also a strategic airfield during the war), to 1950s sock-hoppers to petrol-sniffing flower children.
The costuming of the crowds and the backdrops (the surrounds also get serious set dressing) set a perfect stage, but the racing is always at the center.
I’ve been to the famous Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion half a dozen times or more, and it’s undoubtedly a spectacle. But with all due respect, though the cars on hand are perhaps the equal of those in the Revival paddocks, the racing pales by comparison.
No Grip, No Problem
As evidence, take this year’s “Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration” (all the races have names), on Sunday afternoon. A one-hour race for closed-cockpit GT cars from the early ‘60s, the field includes Shelby Cobras, race-fettled Jag E-Types, and C2 Corvette Sting Rays, just to name a few.
If the cars are impressive, the drivers will knock your socks off. Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Jimmie Johnson, Jacques Villeneuve, and Tom Kristensen are just a handful of the decorated pilots who lined up in the TT this year. But the antagonist of all was the English rain.
The rain caused speeds to come down, but the racing effort and craft were incredible, with red-blooded action even after a driver slid off and took a hard crash into the hay bales.
The rain came on just a few minutes into the event, making my vantage point at the entrance to the chicane the most exciting spot on the track. Speeds came down but the racing effort and craft were incredible, with red-blooded action even after a driver slid off and took a hard crash into the hay bales, resulting in a red flag restart.
For some context, one of the cars in this race was a 1966 Bizzarini 3500 GT Corsa. A Le Mans-raced 1965 version sold at auction for over $2 million in 2023. The Cobras might each be a couple of million, and the Porsche 906. This might be the only place in the world to see cars this expensive go wheel to wheel… It’s nutty, it’s wonderful. A vintage oasis in an ocean of modernity.
Driving Fast For Grown Ups
There’s nothing vintage, per se, about either the Porsche 911 GTS or the Maserati GranCabrio – the test cars that bookended my trip to the UK (with a thick slice of Ford Mustang GTD in the middle). Both cars are, in fact, thoroughly modern, with big screens, massive power, and sophisticated ways to make my old body feel young again as I crank them around my local roads.
What they have in common, though, and in common with some of the legends out at Goodwood, is a belief in the idea of grand touring. That driving long distances in a car that’s as good-looking as it is fast is a worthwhile pursuit. It’s an old-guy thing to talk about, but even my kids seem to enjoy the activity (as long as we plan stops for snacks).
I’m going to be writing a lot more about the Porsche 911 in this space, in a few weeks, but suffice it to say that some of the magic of that model is its historical ability to transition from track to touring, seamlessly. The GTS that I borrowed makes a compelling appeal to this idea, with the phenomenal new T-Hybrid powertrain somehow able to generate equal parts power, lovely noises, and subtle refinement.
Unrelated, but the car you see above is painted in Shade Green Metallic, and it was universally loved by every person who saw it.
Andiamo!
Every Maserati I drive is a special treat – they just don’t come around very often. But the current GranTurismo and GranCabrio are rarer still, and represent the very heart of the Italian brand.
I traveled to Rome two years ago to drive the coupe, and found it not only spellbinding in terms of the design language, but surprisingly agile on tightly wound Italian roads.
So far, so similar, with the GranCabrio here in Michigan in the fall. I’m an avowed convertible guy, and a downright addict to driving with the top down in cool weather. The Maser is just a pitch-perfect tool for this activity, and with some rainy mornings forgiven, the weather has been ideally suited, as well.
I’ve got the GrandCabrio in Trofeo trim, which means a healthy 542 horsepower is developed from the biturbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 engine. Yes, we all loved the drama of the outgoing car’s V8, but the reality is that this six is extremely potent when you dig deep into the throttle – around 3.5 seconds to get to 60 mph – and also sounds glorious with a wide-open throttle.
Not only a great GT car, but if you had the means and panache to drive a $200k sports car year-round, I suspect the GranCabrio might be in the running for the best cold-weather convertible of all time. Remember that the car features all-wheel drive (though still mostly feels like a rear-driver), and it has heated seats, a heated steering wheel, and a hot air vent in the seatback that makes me feel cozier than cashmere. If the Maserati team wanted to loan it all winter and had a snow tire rec, I’d gladly pilot it through six more Michigan months.
On the old man tip – although this is a low-slung car that’s about a thousand feet long, from an exotic brand – The GranCabrio really does kind of fly below the radar for a car in this class. The gray soft top over dark blue bodywork is both stylish and subtle, while still feeling very upscale. More vintage Patek than contemporary Richard Mille (for my watch fam).
The only downside to flying in choppers, standing around in the rain, and dropping myself into sports cars for weeks at a time is the stupid knee. And a balky back, I guess. But the joint clicks and stiff spine are worth a few extra hours of stretching.
See you next week.