Although it has canceled the Festival of Speed and the Revival for 2020, Goodwood has announced a new event, Speedweek, to take place this October 16-18.
“The greatest elements of the Festival and Revival will be combined into one unmissable three-day extravaganza, staged behind closed doors at the Goodwood Motor Circuit,” the news release noted.
“With no spectators, Speedweek will be optimized for broadcast and will be transmitted free of charge globally via our website, social channels and a range of broadcast partners.
“Nothing like Speedweek has been seen before, as we bring more than a century of world class motorsport to life to celebrate the legendary feats of speed, courage and endurance that make it the most compelling sport on earth,” the release promised.
“On the track, the most valuable cars will do battle in the closest, most competitive historic racing in the world, driven by a glittering line-up of famous faces.
“Embracing the lack of spectators, a dramatic rally competition will see cars go on, over and even under the circuit, the inaugural ‘Goodwood Gymkhana ‘will literally take over the venue, going to places that would normally be strictly out of bounds, and a never-to-be-repeated competition will see some of the fastest cars in motorsport history vying for honors in a winner-takes-all shoot-out over one lap.”
The official Goodwood lap record has stood for 55 years, organizers note, “and with modern cars never likely to return, it’s entirely possible that the times recorded at Speedweek will remain unsurpassed for the next 55.”
Bonhams will stage a live-streamed collector car auction October 17 in conjunction with the Speedweeks activities, the auction house announced.
Will new Bronco show up at Carlisle Ford Nationals?
There’s no word on whether one of the new Bronco prototypes might be present, but Carlisle Events and Ford have announced that the Carlisle Ford Nationals will provide the first public joint exposure of the 2021 F-150, the 2021 Mach I Mustang, and the 2020 GT350 and 2020 GT350R Heritage Edition Mustangs.
The Ford Nationals are scheduled for July 31-August 2 at the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania.
“With the national and international car show circuit essentially off the books for 2020, the Carlisle Ford Nationals become the launching point and prime viewing location for these vehicles,” Carlisle Events said, adding, “Ford may have some other surprise vehicles planned for event weekend, but what’s known and confirmed at this time is that those four rides will anchor their display at Carlisle.”
In addition to Ford’s latest and greatest, the Carlisle Ford Nationals will feature the 15th anniversary of the Ford GT (with a Friday evening parade of Ford GTs around the fairgrounds), a Euro Ford Garage showcasing the 50th anniversary of the Capri and 35th anniversary of the Merkur.
There also will be a Thunderbird reunion and a Starliner showcase.
For details, visit the Carlisle Events website.
Japanese Classic show set for October 24
The 16th annual Japanese Classic Car Show is scheduled for October 24 at Marina Green Park in Long Beach, California, and has announced its featured classes for 2020. They are Mazda’s 100th Anniversary, 50 Years of the Toyota Celica, and 35th Anniversary of the Acura Integra.
The event also will feature the 10th Japanese Classic Motorcycle Show.
Show registration opens August 1. For details, visit the show website.
Woodies at the Beach set for July 25
The annual Woodies at the Beach car show remains set for July 25 at Goleta Beach Park in California, but will be a members-and-family only event, organizers have announced.
Vail opens registration
Registration has opened for entries in the Vail Automotive Classic, scheduled for September 11-13 in the Colorado mountain resort community. The event begins with a road tour on September 11, cars and coffee on September 12 and the classic car and motorcycle show on September 13.
For details, visit the event website.
Pasadera concours will wait until 2021
The Club at Pasadera in Carmel Valley, California, has announced on its Facebook page the postponement of the Concours at Pasadera until 2021.
Meanwhile, the Monterey Herald reports that the Pacific Grove Rotary concours and auto rally will be a rally only with cars doing a 100-mile drive through Monterey County instead of staging a downtown car show and shorter drive.
Hot Rod Power Tour, Drag Week canceled for 2020
Also canceled for 2020 is the Hot Rod Power Tour and Drag Week events.
The 25th annual Power Tour was scheduled for August 23-29 with cars traveling through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. Drag Week was to take place September 13-18 at drag racing facilities in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.
Concours Virtual crowns another class
The online Concours Virtual has announced the winner of another class. This time it’s Class N: Slat Flat Heroes and the winner is the 1957 MG EX-181 driven to a record 245.6 mph by Stirling Moss, and then, with a larger engine, at 254.9 in 1959 by Phil Hill.
Cruisin’ The Coast wins USA Today car show honors
USA Today has announced the results of its Readers’ Choice 2020 recognition of the 10-Best car shows. And the winner is… Cruisin’ The coast, as in the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Calling it “America’s largest block party” and with more than 7,000 vehicles involved early each October, the event is staged on a beachside roadway rated No. 1 in newspaper’s annual poll and ratings list.
While many events have been canceled for 2020, but adds, “Someday, we’ll all be ready to pack our suitcases again and head out on our next adventures.”
To get ready for 2021, consider this top-10 list:
- Cruisin’ The Coast, Mississippi Gulf Coast
- MSRA Back to the 50’s Weekend, St. Paul MN
- Telluride Festival of Cars & Colors, Telluride CO
- North American International Auto Show, Detroit
- Iola Old Car Show, Iola WS
- Woodward Dream Cruise, Detroit
- Legends of the Autobahn, Monterey CA
- AACA Hershey Fall Meet, Hershey PA
- Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Monterey CA
- SEMA Show, Las Vegas
Villa d’Este will wait until 2021
The Concorso Villa d’Este, held on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como, already had been postponed from May to October and now has been canceled until its 2021 dates of May 28-30, the host Grand Hotel Villa d’Este and the sponsoring BMW Group have announced.
Travel restrictions still in place were cited as one reason for the cancelation.
Watkins Glen cancels festival
Held annually since 1993, the Grand Prix Festival of Watkins Glen, scheduled for the Friday after Labor Day, will not take place in 2020.
Typically, around 25,000 people line the streets of the upstate New York community to watch the parade of as many as 650 historic racing and classic cars.
Still scheduled is the SVRA vintage racing weekend at the Watkins Glen International race track.
Fall car-show calendar
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the fall car-show and concours calendar continues to evolve. Here’s the updated schedule, based on official announcements but subject to change, as of July 21, 2020:
August 8-16 — Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals, Woodward Dream Show (Pontiac, Michigan), Street Rod Nationals Southeast (Kentucky), Goodguys Great American Nationals (Pennsylvania), New Hope car show (Pennsylvania), Indy 500 Corvette pace car homecoming
August 19-20 — London Concours
August 21-23 — Morgan Adams Concours d’Elegance (Colorado), Geneva (Illinois) Concours d’Elegance, Street Rod Route 66 Nationals (New Mexico), Goodguys West Coast Nationals (California), AACA Grand Nationals (Pennsylvania), Arthritis Foundation car show (Dublin, Ohi0)
August 27-30 — Corvettes at Carlisle, Fountain Valley (California), Artmobilia Weekend (Carmel, Indiana), Goodguys Nashville Nationals
September 4-7 (Labor Day weekend) — Greenbrier Concours d’Elegance, Lime Rock Historic Festival, Groesbeck Grand Prix Festival of Motoring (Texas), Crescent Beach Concours d’Elegance, Sonoma Speed Festival, Foothills Motoring Festival (Pinehurst, North Carolina), Royal Concours of Elegance (England)
September 11-13 — AAA Glidden Tour (Sarasota Springs, New York), Vail Classic, Goodguys Colorado Nationals, Wisconsin Dells Automotion
September 18-20 — New York City Concours, La Jolla Concours d’Elegance, Street Rod Nationals Northeast (Vermont), Arizona FuelFest, Balfour Car Show (Denver)
September 25-27 — Salon Prive (England), Telluride Festival, Ironstone Concours d’Elegance (California), St. Michaels Concours d’Elegance (Maryland), Goodguys Lone Star Nationals (Texas), Catskill Conquest Rally (New York)
October 2-4 — Fall Carlisle, Street Rod Nationals South (Knoxville, Tennessee), Goodguys Del Mar Nationals (California)
October 9-11 — Zoute Grand Prix and Concours (Belgium), AACA Eastern Fall Nationals (car show only), Chico Concours d’Elegance (California)
October 16-18 — Goodwood Speed Week, Keels & Wheels, Lake Mirror Concours d’Elegance (Florida), Mid-American Street Rod Nationals (Missouri)
October 19-23 — AACA Central Divisional Tour (Oklahoma)
October 23-25 — Japanese Classic (Long Beach, California), Charlotte Auto Fair, (plus the Mille Miglia race/rally)
October 30-November 1 — Copperstate 1000 vintage rally car show, Western Street Rod Nationals (Bakersfield, California), Luftgekuhlt 7 (Durham, North Carolina)
To share news of your local car shows and cruises, email [email protected].
