Goodwood Revival will host a £200m grid of cars

How’s this for a spectacle? Kicking off this year’s Goodwood Revival weekend is what’s thought to be the world’s most valuable ever race grid, with £200million worth of classics taking part in the Kinrara Trophy.

In a world of £52m Ferrari 250 GTOs, it might actually be a conservative estimate. Ten Ferrari 250 GT SWBs form part of the 30-car grid, plus a pair of GTOs.

As well as four Aston Martin DB4 GTs. And a whole handful of Jaguar E-Types, AC Cobras and more besides. It’s easy to see how that £200m quickly racks up.

Like any race at the Revival, though, it’ll be proper. There’s no messing about, with as much motorsport heritage wearing nomex as there is wearing crossplies. No driver will give an inch, no matter how outrageously valuable those inches are. The Kinrara lasts 60 minutes, and kicks off the Revival timetable on September 7 by racing through sunset and into dusk. And doubtless making a hell of a lot of noise as it does so.

“As a boy I watched these cars race at Goodwood when they were new and could not have imagined how valuable cars like the Ferrari 250 GT SWB would be today,” says the Duke of Richmond, formerly Lord March.

“Most would expect to find cars of this value locked away in a garage or museum. But at the Revival you will find them racing into the dusk, headlights blazing, and brake discs glowing as they roar around one of the fastest and most demanding circuits in the UK.”

He also estimates that everything at Revival weekend combined (there are 16 races, including all manner of cars and bikes) exceeds half a billion pounds in value. Eek.