The Goodwood Festival of Parking 2011

This time last week, the exceptional Goodwood Festival of Speed weekend was drawing to a close. PetrolBlog was in attendance on the Friday and among other things, was treated to an adrenalin fuelled 60 seconds in the Volvo C30 Polestar. Nice. But although the supercars, organic food stalls and hill climb were obvious attractions, I found the greatest source of interest to be just outside the gates. In the car park.

I literally spent two hours on Friday morning wandering around the car park and checking out some of the glorious cars on display. I take my hat off to the Goodwood visitors as some of the cars were simply brilliant. Next year I intend to run my own unofficial event and will probably call it the Goodwood Festival of Parking. When the cars are this good, who needs the main event?!

Here are PetrolBlog’s top 20 cars from the car park. You can see more on my Flickr stream.

Volkswagen Polo CL Coupé

I was really taken by this little Polo. Still on original dealer plates and with the original dealer sticker in the rear window, it just looked lovely and original. The MK3 Polo is probably my favourite of all the Polos, especially in GT or G40 form.

Mercedes 190E 2.0

This early ’90s Mercedes caught my eye for a number of reasons. Firstly the white paintwork looked rather resplendent in the Sussex sunshine. I was then drawn to the original Majestic Mercedes dealer plates as this happened to be my local dealership when growing up. But to top it all, this 190E has only done a measly 33k miles – wow! Shame it’s an automatic, otherwise this would make a wonderful retro motor.

Toyota Carina II

Maybe it’s the fault of the PetrolBlog Type-Shed, but I suddenly find the Toyota Carina II quite appealing. I fancy finding one for some retro modifying action. This would be a good base car, with just 65k miles on the clock and still on original dealer plates and stickers. Shame it’s an auto though…

Nissan Almera GTi

My love for the Almera GTi is growing all the time. A serious lack of image has stopped this hot hatch from becoming collectable, but scratch beneath the rather tame exterior and you’ll find a genuinely good B-road contender. And don’t forget the ‘classic’ TV ad…

Rover 620 Ti

I was fortunate enough to meet the owner of this stunning Rover 620 Ti. He’s owned it from new and has put on 120k miles in the process. It has full service history and retains its original Blaupunkt stereo. The gentleman opted for the spoiler when new and also had the sills and mirrors painted white. Aside from a couple of minor issues, it has been completely reliable. The owner has the original alloys in the garage and says that he’ll never, ever sell it. It really is a credit to him.

Datsun 240Z

A stunning, red Datsun 240Z. Enough said…

Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen

Really good to see my star of the SMMT Day at Goodwood. This Stuttgart Classics G-Wagen is a peach. So much want!

Citroen SM

Simply stunning. This SM really should have been on display in the main event.

Peugeot 504 cabriolet

Remember when Peugeot’s made cars as jaw achingly beautiful as this? Well you’re older than me then! Elegance, charm and sophistication – from a Peugeot. Who’d have thought it?

Honda Civic VTi

Sadly, most of these have been modified to death, so it was nice to see a fairly original example. A good Bangernomics hot hatch…

Volkswagen Golf MKII

A nicely preserved 3-door MKII Golf. Sweet.

Porsche 928S

Even in a ‘tired’ condition, this 928S remains effortlessly cool.

Renault 5 Turbo

Not many of these around today. Modified, but nothing too drastic.

Toyota Celica GT Four

According to howmanyleft.co.uk, there are just 75 of these left on the road. So that’s only 75 chances for you to pretend to be a world rally driver.

Alfa Romeo 145 1.8 Twin Spark

You really don’t see enough of these around these days, especially in such an amazing condition. This 145 is an absolute peach.

Volkswagen Scirocco GTII

Just how good is this Scirocco? Almost perfect condition, yet with 190k miles on the clock. Respect to the car and respect to the owner. One of my favourite cars of the day.

Volkswagen Corrado VR6 Storm

Always a pleasure to see a Corrado. Even more so when it’s a VR6 Storm. Sweet.

Honda Civic GL

Really rather tidy and just 70k miles on the clock. Once again though, shame it’s an auto…

Alfa Romeo GTV6

Got to love this. A beautiful Alfa Romeo GTV6. A true survivor

Peugeot 205 1.6 GTi

With racing seats, this looked every bit the trackday tool. Lovely.

There were of course, numerous supercars and more exotic cars than the twenty I’ve chosen, but it wouldn’t be PetrolBlog to feature them. For more Festival of Parking, visit the Flickr feed here.