Having been to Goodwood FOS many times with various teams and as spectators it was very nice and a rare privilege to be invited to be part of the event. To be invited by the Duke of Richmond to exhibit in the Cartier Style et Luxe as part of the innovations in automobile design was a huge honour for me.
Having been confined with the rest of the world for a few years, motorsport appeared to kick start at the beginning of the year with everyone suddenly wanting to get back to the track and becoming very busy very quickly.
As our car – a 1964 René Bonnet Djet had been confined locally with us, we were thinking about what our programme might look like when the FOS invite arrived. With around two months to clear the cobwebs away, we set about completing our interior refit we had planned before lockdown.
Move forward two months and after a painstaking wait, the interior arrived with just a week before the car was due at Goodwood. So in true motorsport fashion an obligatory few late nights of hard work before loading onto the trailer were required.
Goodwood Festival of Speed is the biggest event of its type in the world and is a must for any motorsport fans bucket list. With drivers, fans and celebrities attending, along with many iconic race cars from the earliest efforts to the most modern as well as some of the next generation of race and road cars.
The theme was innovation that drove change in design trends. René Bonnet was one such innovator and once car driver, his designs created a car called “Djet”. The “Djet” features a mid engine differential forward of the gearbox – this was the first time it had been used in a road car and was new in racing in the early 60s.
Our 1964 Djet model is even more unique in the company of the 200(ish) made during its production run as it is the only right hand drive in the world. This was not a conversion but a complete “build” bespoke to race in the UK.
Interestingly, the René Bonnet brand later morphed, with the car eventually becoming the Matra Djet and introducing Matra as a marque into racing.
The Bonnet pronounced “Bonnie” is acknowledged to be the “Grand-Daddy” of the cars exhibiting at the Cartier awards. It stood alongside stunning examples of the Tommaso Vallelunga, Ferrari 206 Dino, Lotus Europa and Elva.
So with stiff competition the judging panel including Lord Froster, Sir Chris Hoy, and model Jordan Rand adjudged the René Bonnet the most significant design influence. Our surprise at the awards ceremony was genuine and Jody was very happy to accept the award.
There are a few pictures we took included in this blog and more official winners photographs can be found on Goodwood FOS website here.
To find out more about other exciting projects Bowmotive are involved in across the Motorsport industry, explore our website here.
Author – Andy Bowman (Principal at Bowmotive)
