Photo: Goodwood

Twenty-twenty-one marks 70 years since Wally Parks founded the National Hot Rod Association, and Goodwood’s Sept. 17-19 Revival will host one of the largest-ever gatherings of the mean machines in Europe. This iconic slice of Americana will be celebrated at a relocated Gasoline Alley which will feature bleachers, a mock drag strip, performance stage and dancing.

The ultimate aim is to have one car for every year of the NHRA’s age. In addition, 16 of the infamous Rolling Bones cars are confirmed to attend. The Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop in Greenfield Center, New York, is a renowned hub of automotive craftsmanship run by Ken Schmidt and Keith Cornell for over 20 years. The Rolling Bones will be joined at Revival’s colorful display by a number of their UK cousins, with representatives from key Hot Rod groups such as the Low Fliers, the Detonators (of which American F1 legend Dan Gurney was a member), the Originals and the Vultures.

There will also be the UK’s biggest gathering of 1932 Fords — the ‘Deuce Coupe’ of hot rod legend made famous by the Beach Boys.

This year’s Revival will celebrate a second momentous 1951 event, the Festival of Britain which attracted several million visitors to London’s South Bank. The Festival was a national showcase of British manufacturing and design, held just six years after the end of World War II promoting British science, technology, industrial design, architecture and the arts.

To celebrate the occasion, Goodwood will be recreating a slice of that festival atmosphere at Gate 2 of the Motor Circuit. There will be nods to the vibrant colours of the Festival of Britain with colourful ‘lollipops’ throughout the trees and geometric patterns on the buildings, while the famous Hans Tisdall Cockerel mural will also be recreated. The area will be a hub of colour and entertainment and a helter skelter and Punch and Judy stage will provide entertainment throughout the day.

This year, the Goodwood Trophy has been renamed to celebrate 70 years since the Festival of Britain and will be contested by some of the finest Grand Prix and Voiturette cars of the 1930s and ‘40s, recapturing the derring-do atmosphere of inter-war racing as English Racing Automobiles took on the French and Italian marques.

Saturday tickets for the Revival are sold out; however, Friday and Sunday tickets are still available and can be purchased via goodwood.com