For five decades, the Porsche 911 has been at the heart of the Porsche brand, and this weekend the iconic sports coupe takes centre stage at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where its reputation as the quintessential sports car will literally reach new heights.

Soaring 34 metres into the sky, the ‘Central Feature’ sculpture celebrating 50 years of the Porsche 911 is the tallest in the history of the Festival of Speed. From its base in front of Goodwood House, three futuristic white, steel ‘arrows’ race upwards, each with an example of the 911 at its apex. The origins of the 911 are honoured with an early Golf Blue coupe from 1965, the motorsport record of the model is highlighted by a Yellow 2.7 RS from 1973, and the latest all-wheel drive ‘Type 991’ Carrera 4 underlines the everyday usability of the sports car from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

Formally unveiled on Thursday night (11 July) by Lord March and Wolfgang Hatz, board member for Research and Development at Porsche AG, the bespoke, highly distinctive ‘art installation’ has been designed by acclaimed artist and sculptor Gerry Judah.

The ‘Central Feature’ has become synonymous with the Festival of Speed, and this year’s focal point is a tremendous example of what these complex yet elegant sculptures are all about. It draws from the combined spirits of Goodwood and Porsche to create a dynamic and innovative design which is also lightweight, superbly engineered, and utterly reflective of the Porsche 911 itself: simple, pure and built for the job. The 911 can equally be regarded as a ‘living work of art’, which has been honed and developed over the past 50 years, in a continual process of evolution.

The 34-metre high steel monocoque sculpture weighs 25 tonnes and brings together brilliantly the feelings of excitement, wonder, beauty and function which so exemplify the 911.

Fittingly, Gerry Judah came up with the idea for the Porsche sculpture while on the road. He said: “Great ideas can take a moment, good ideas can take a long time. I got the idea for the Porsche sculpture while I was driving; it came to me in a flash!”

“I had to create a sculpture which personifies the energy and dynamic excitement not just of the cars and Festival of Speed, but also reflected how something as beautiful and dynamic as the 911 can in turn celebrate the event.

“The 911 is a fantastic shape, so I had to think, ‘what can I do with it?’ You can’t deconstruct it, so in the context of the Festival, however beautiful the 911 is, you need to embody a sense of speed. So the sculpture has to give the car the energy it deserves.”

And, he adds with a smile; “You can’t just put a car on a plinth; it has to be exciting!”

The high, slender design supports three great cars from different periods in the history of the 911; “the concept was that each car is shooting into the sky, supporting one another, racing each other, captured in a perfect moment.”

Each leg is a monocoque of sheet steel welded together, with no internal structure, and comes down to a small point at the base narrow enough you can almost fit your hands around. Finished in a clean, white coating, the sculpture has an elegant simplicity. “Essentially, the design of the sculpture relates to me what the 911 is all about. The 911 has its own design and shape; I did not want to embellish it,” explained Gerry.

Like all great works of art, the manner in which the public engage with the sculpture and enjoy it is important to Gerry. “It is always a thrill to see the sculpture when you come around the corner of the House; people feel it belongs to them once it is built. It has this impressive backdrop against the flint walls of the House, a terrific setting in an old country estate, and as soon as you see it you should get the feeling ‘this is the Festival of Speed, this is Porsche.’”

McLaren’s Le Mans heritage to be showcased at Goodwood Festival of Speed As teams and drivers prepare for this weekend’s running of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, McLaren has confirmed that the 1995 race-winning McLaren F1 GTR will take to the Goodwood Hill at this summ

Goodwood Festival of Speed: Pictures from Day One With the Goodwood Festival of Speed having kicked off in style today, many people will be looking forward to the weekend when the festival will be at its busiest. Here, we provide you with a wi

Gorgeous Jaguar C-X75 makes surprise public debut at Goodwood The Jaguar C-X75 is set to make a surprise public dynamic debut today at Goodwood Festival of Speed. The prototype hypercar, one of only five development and test cars in existence,  will

Office of Fair Trading slammed for refusing to investigate UK oil prices.  The Road Haulage Association has said it is ‘disappointed’ at the refusal by the Office of Fair Trading to consider an investigation into the issue of UK oil pricing.Such was the strength of feeling... 

Police commissioners do not regard road safety as a high priority, as number of road traffic police plummet.  Traffic police numbers across Great Britain have been cut by 12 per cent in five years, with some forces suffering 30 to 40 per cent reductions, according to data released today by road safety chari... 

Gorgeous Jaguar C-X75 makes surprise public debut at Goodwood.  The Jaguar C-X75 is set to make a surprise public dynamic debut today at Goodwood Festival of Speed. The prototype hypercar, one of only five development and test cars in existence,  will ... 

Putting restrictions on young drivers can make them safer, says RAC Foundation.  Placing conditions on the licences of young drivers could reduce fatal accidents amongst this group by more than a half.One in five young drivers (17-24 year-olds) will have an accident within six m... 

£10 Million Pound Prize Announced To Make Ultra Low Emission Cars.  A new £10 million prize to incentivise the development of the next generation of ultra low emission cars has been announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander during a visit to M... 

Nissan welcome Vince Cable's new UK Automotive Industrial Strategy.  Nissan has welcomed the new UK Automotive Industrial Strategy, announced by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable.John Martin, Nissan’s Senior Vice President for Ma... 

1965 Aston Martin DB5 exceeds estimate to fetch £374,000 at Silverstone auction.  A host of cars with ‘star’ appeal helped Silverstone Auctions to a record-breaking Silverstone Classic sale, generating more than £2million.In total, 64 percent of the road cars on offer were succes... 

Ferrari shows true speed at Goodwood's 20th Anniversary.  Although the excitement of the 20th Anniversary of the Goodwood Festival of Speed is over for another year, Ferrari fans will have many memories on which to reflect until next year’s event. Ferrari ... 

Tiredness is deadly but half of all drivers are forced to drive to work early despite a lack of sleep.  Drivers are being advised to take simple steps to avoid falling asleep at the wheel as the holiday season starts and many families prepare for long distance travel to destinations across the UK and ... 

McLaren P1 Video shows British supercar being driven in extreme conditions: from road to ice.  With only a few months remaining until the first deliveries will be made to just 375 customers, the development programme for the McLaren P1 continues to accelerate as it nears its end. This extensi... 

150th Anniversary of Henry Ford's birth celebrated around the world.  Yesterday marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Henry Ford, whose innovative ideas revolutionised transportation and brought mobility to the masses. Henry Ford’s enduring impact is being reco... 

Like many popular websites, Motortrades Insight uses some third party widgets that may set and may have already set cookies, for example the Twitter feed on our homepage. For more information see our cookie policy. By clicking close and continue you agree to our use of cookies.