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Goodwood Revival 2009: the first details

By Freddie Fulton Motor Shows 10 August 2009 14:22 Mini turned 50 recently, and the celebration of its engineering achievements continues at the Goodwood Revival in September 2009.  Huge numbers of pre-1966 Minis are expected on track, bringing their owners and large numbers of enthusiasts with them.  Champions and role models such as five-time winner of Le Mans Derek Bell will be racing, as well as Jackie Oliver, Bobby Rahal, Anthony Reid and Brian Redman.  You can also hope to see ‘The Rally Professor,’ Rauno Aaltonen, who won the Gallaher 500 touring car races in a Mini Cooper S.  Other Mini legends will include Sir John Whitmore, Alec Poole, Warwick Banks, John Fitzpatrick, Richard Longman and Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams.  We at CAR are most looking forward to when a full 30-car grid, largely composed of 1275cc Mini Coopers, will compete in a race that is promised to be ‘the most closely fought race in the Revival’s history.’ That’ll be the St Mary’s Trophy saloon car race packed with cars that raced before 1966. Each day, a tribute parade of Minis will lap the circuit and show off some of their retro glory.  Expect some Mini curios: an ice cream van is expected, as well as a Wildgoose camping Mini and other modified models. Some of these ‘Mini cousins’ will include the ‘Riley Elf’ and ‘Wolseley Hornet’ variants, which are noted for their reshaped boots and narrower front grilles.

Sales enthusiasm? Sports-car and luxury brands show strong market gains

Count Porsche among enthusiast and luxury brands enjoying huge sales gains this year. Sales for the German automaker are up 29 percent so far this year-one of the largest increases in the industry. Almost one-third of Porsche's total sales came from the four-door Panamera.

Smart Fourjoy concept revealed ahead of Frankfurt motor show

Smart will preview its upcoming second-generation Forfour at next week's Frankfurt motor show when it shows the Fourjoy, the latest concept from the Mercedes-Benz owned city car brand. Pictured here for the first time, the new four-seater follows the earlier Forus and Forstars concepts, providing clues to next year's Forfour, developed with Renault. The French automaker will offer its own version of the new car as a replacement for the Twingo.