Goodwood's Cartier Style et luxe concours d'elegance to surprise and wow again

Now in its 19th consecutive year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Moving Motor Show, the annual Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ concours d’elegance has gathered hundreds of the world’s finest, most beautiful, valuable, distinctive and sought-after cars over the years, all competing for the coveted Overall Winner award, as voted by a distinguished panel of judges.

This year the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ is set to be truly exceptional as Goodwood celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Festival of Speed.  In line with the 2013 Festival ‘Best of the first 20 years’ theme, the eight vehicle classes and cars on display at Goodwood will reflect many of the greatest machines that have graced the tranquil Cartier Lawn over the last two decades.

The Cartier vehicle classes will be made up of around 50 beautiful cars, plus one spectacular and memorable beast, only seen at Goodwood once before!  The eight classes will include a number of striking pre-War decedent automobiles, including the stunning 1929 Bugatti Type 41 ‘Royale’ with Coupe de Ville coachwork by Binder, plus an unusual coachbuilt Vauxhall 30/98, to help mark the centenary of Britain’s 100 mph car. 

A mouth-watering array of pre-War streamlined automotive art will include a beautiful 1938 Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic, plus a real beast; the one-off Phantom Corsair that first came to Goodwood in 2006, when it proceeded to gently move across the Cartier lawn by itself in the middle of the night with the engine off, the car in gear, and the handbrake firmly on!  The aptly-named Phantom was a six-seater coupe designed by Rust Heinz of the famous Heinz (57 Varieties) family.  Built in 1938, Rust Heinz lost his life in a car crash the following year, and many subsequent guardians of the Phantom have meet with unusual and untimely ends, leading to the car often being labeled as cursed!

Post-War beauties will include a class of sublime 1950s grand tourers, such as the one-off 1954 Fiat Turbina and 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Competition Tour de France Speciale, as well chic drop tops for the rich and famous, including a 1954 Maserati A6 GCS Frua and rare Jaguar XKSS. 

A class of Sixties Sensations will include a number of iconic favourites, from Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar and others, whilst a class of 911 derivatives will help celebrate the legendary Porsche’s 50th anniversary.

The two final classes will see an unparalleled selection of rarely-seen concept cars and pin-up supercars from the past 50 years, ranging from Peugeot and Vauxhall, to McLaren and Lamborghini.  Full details of all of the vehicles set to compete for the prestigious Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ Best of Show award will be confirmed over the coming weeks, along with the list of distinguished judges.

During the Festival weekend, a visit to the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ is made all the more enjoyable by a superb soundtrack of live jazz playing on the bandstand on Saturday and Sunday, making this is an unmissable occasion for anyone who appreciates the inherent creative magnificence of great automobiles.