Alfa Romeo was the
featured marque at this year’s Goodwood Festival of
Speed last weekend and the lawn in front of the house
was handed over to a dedicated display with Capita
Symonds providing structural engineering design for this
spectacular central sculpture.
The innovative display –
sponsored by Alfa Romeo to celebrate the company’s
centenary – was designed especially for the event by
sculptor Gerry Judah who has turned his hand to all the
recent Goodwood centrepiece attractions. This year the
structure’s design was reminiscent of the carmaker’s
famous "Quadrifoglio" badge and the red livery of its
racing cars; it featured an Alfa Romeo P2 (a P2 won the
inaugural Automobile World Championship in 1925) and the
more recent limited production Alfa 8C Competizione.
Standing at 18.5m high
and 25m across, the sculpture was made from 12 tonnes of
steel. Although it appeared to be 175 metres of
continuous tube twisted into position, it actually
consisted of thirty two precision sections of 323.9mm
diameter steel. The steel sections also had to fit
together seamlessly first time, with no opportunity for
mistakes or second chances.
This was the sixth
year in a row that the Capita Symonds team had worked on
the structure. Last year’s innovative display –
sponsored by Audi in what was then its centenary year –
was also designed especially for the event by Gerry
Judah. Celebrating Audi’s achievements in motorsports,
the sculpture featured the 1937 Auto Union Streamliner
and the more recently launched R8 V10 sports car at
either end of a dramatic 'swoosh' of tyre tracks, as if
they were driving off into the sky.
For this year Alfa
Romeo display the Capita Symonds team’s role was to
develop the artist’s sketches into a three dimensional
shape that balances elegance, structural soundness and
practicality to build. Main contractor services,
including steelwork fabrication, installation and
finishing, were provided by Littlehampton Welding. A new
sculpture is created for the festival each year. As with
its predecessors, it only remained for the duration of
the festival and is now being dismantled. The Goodwood
Festival of Speed in Chichester, West Sussex is one of
the world's biggest and most diverse celebrations of the
history of motorsport. Featuring famous cars and famous
drivers, the festival is an unrivalled social and
sporting occasion in the motor racing calendar.
