Goodwood Festival of Speed: Alive and Kicking

Contrary to popular belief, the motor industry is alive and well… and Goodwood Festival of Speed once again proves this point. 

This annual automotive extravaganza isn’t an out-of-touch bubble of petrol-headed enthusiasts descending on Lord March’s estate – it’s proof that there’s hope for an extraordinary industry.

I’m the first to talk about the future of the business, where incredible technology will deliver a safer and more efficient transportation network, but I’ll always counter this with a need for brand individuality and a personal love of driving. Give me autonomous commuting, but hands-on engagement for those twisting back roads. I want to see alternatives to fossil fuels, but silence isn’t always golden so deliver the sound of the future, not merely the vision.

I’ve written enough about Goodwood to avoid repeating myself again, but this incredible event is a sell out every year. Attendees of all ages reminisce about past racing glories, touch the supercars of today and marvel at the concepts for the next generation of characterful transportation.

You won’t find bottom-of-the-range city cars – this is about realising potential and dreaming big and it’s how the brands with panic in their eyes can best educate future audiences to the benefits of driving and ownership.

From a stunning show, I’ve chosen my top 4 cars and the best luxury and volume brands…

4 > Renault R.S. 2027 Vision

A stunning realisation of the future of F1 racing, from the company already bringing us Formula E racers and their own F1 efforts. I hope Formula 1 reaches this level of design thinking before 2027!

3 > Jaguar XE SV Project 8

Jaguar’s smallest offering (until the I-Pace arrives) on steroids. The SVO team has injected 200mph and 600PS into this saloon to deliver 0-60 dash in 3.3 secs and a great looking car. I love the honeycomb face.

2 > Aston Martin Valkyrie

Bringing the hyper to hypercar, this automotive project with RedBull Racing looks more like a fighter jet for the road. It’s hard not to appreciate the aerodynamic superiority and unashamed nod to the future. Very nearly my number one but the green centre stripe loses a point. It works on a Ford GT, but seems unnecessary here – even if it is a nod to the racing team.

1 > Robocar

Top spot goes to a car encompassing design, innovation, technology and the future of autonomous racing. This vision of supremely talented British designer Daniel Simon is driving its development alongside the Formula E racing series and ticks all the automotive boxes.

Top Luxury Auto Manufacturer > BMW

This sporting marque brought the beautiful 8 Series Concept to Goodwood, alongside the hybrid i8 supercar in some adventurous liveries. These halo models continue to filter their design inference down to the rest of the range and push technological development without sacrificing driving pleasure.

Top Volume Auto Manufacturer > Renault

A great show for Renault! Not only hitting my top 4 with their R.S. 2027 Vision, but also bringing some EV madness in the shape of their ZOE eSport Concept and the Alpine compact supercar. I just wish the Zoe had been equipped with a stunning sound generator for the hill climb. Something to consider for Formula E where everything sounds like Scalextric cars when it has the potential to emulate Star Wars!

Here’s to Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018. We don’t need to wait to be excited though, these cars are amazing 365 days of the year!

IoC: Internet of Cars

What’s the biggest auto show in the world? Geneva, Paris, Frankfurt, Detroit? Nope, with 180,000 attendees spread over 2.5 million sq ft, it’s CES in Las Vegas. Isn’t it full of robots, drones, augmented reality, touch screens and IoT? Yep, and so are the cars.

I’m not about to write a preachy outsider’s view of the automotive future or an insider’s defence of the industry – rather uniquely, I have feet placed firmly in both camps and a tattoo across my skull that reads ‘petrol head’.

OK, the tattoo’s on the inside and I actually like electric propulsion as well as exhaust sniffing. It’s a good job too as the main headlines at CES were all made by cars fuelled from the wall, not the pump.

Faraday Future made a triumphant return to the Nevada stage with their FF 91 at a glitzy live-streamed event. Last year they revealed a concept resembling the Batmobile, twelve months later, it was a far more practical SUV.

For all the glamour, slick branding and live theatre, the focus was on a record attempt – could the new FF 91 beat the Bentley Bentayga, Ferrari 488 GTB and Tesla Model X from 0-60mph? It did, by 0.01sec, hitting the mark in 2.39 sec. I’m not convinced many in the audience bought into the line that someone torn between the Ferrari and the FF 91 would choose the SUV over the supercar based on a straight line dash. Show them both a series of twisting corners and see who emerges at the other end with a smile on their face and who has their half-digested lunch in their lap.

Speaking of smiling faces, that’s exactly what I’d had earlier the same day as I spent quality time with the team from Lucid Motors – another EV startup focused on disrupting the automotive industry. Their forthcoming ‘Air’ also makes a fast dash from 0-60 but the story behind it is one of driving dynamics, rather than straight line bragging rights. Lucid’s CTO Peter Rawlinson, formerly Chief Engineer at Tesla and Lotus, put forward a strong case for his passionate team of 300+ employees and why they’re convinced driving and design appreciation will be just as important as battery range and autonomous tech to the Lucid audience.

Rawlinson believes their battery, developed in partnership with Samsung SDI, is a genuine differentiator in a new world of range anxiety. “It’s not just about distance, but sustained range. The breakthrough cell density is resistant to battery charge depletion usually experienced with repeated fast-charging.” The automotive industry faces many of the issues we already encounter with our personal technology, such as connectivity and mobile phone batteries caught in a recharging memory cycle of decreasing shelf life – not something we’ll tolerate when spending $100,000+ on a luxury car.

VP of Design, Derek Jenkins, former Director of Design at Mazda and VW told me he’d relished the creative challenges when starting with an automotive clean sheet. Sensors for autonomous driving need to be integrated, rather than added to a familiar silhouette and the interior design maximises the space around the electric drivetrain, rather than one inherited from the mechanical components of a traditional combustion engine.

It’s Rawlinson’s engineering appreciation and Jenkins’ design skills that brought the aforementioned smile to my face as we headed out onto the dusty Vegas roads in a development prototype. Peter eagerly hanging the back end out at every opportunity, putting that passion for driving into action!

Lucid now needs to start work on their $700M Arizona factory. This has been previously misreported as a similar model to Faraday Future’s, with funds coming from their own Chinese billionaire – not so, as Rawlinson stressed “this is an American company.” Despite their intentionally understated message, they seem to be heading in the right direction at the right speed as the Air is slated for production in 2019, with first year projections of 8-10k units, rising to 50-60k.

Although Lucid seems to be on track, Faraday’s FF 91 still lacks one important ingredient – money. Vital funds need to be released by Chinese backer, Founder and CEO of LeEco Jia Yueting so work can resume on their Nevada factory. Many keep referring to Faraday Future as the ‘Tesla killer’ as if this is a good thing. It’s not, and Elon Musk has frequently said the industry needs many EV-first players to shake up the competition, not kill it!

So where does this leave everyone else? Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes and others had CES concepts to show off their latest vision for the future of vehicle connectivity – inside and out – and how they’ll all drive themselves, but BMW took out the most real estate.

Here I put my cards on the table as I drive a BMW, but it’s a petrol model and I haven’t made the jump to hybrid or electric yet as I’m still addicted to their turbocharged straight six. However, this doesn’t stop the Bavarians from trying to tempt me into an ‘i model’ every year at CES. In 2015, I piloted BMW’s petrol-electric supercar around the streets of Vegas. This year, they drove me to the ‘Speed Vegas’ desert racing circuit in an i3, then let me loose in an i8 around the track!

Compared to Faraday Future and Tesla’s unnatural obsession with straight line speed, this track session was a superb way to demonstrate the benefits of a car that is just as comfortable in the corners as the straights – and that’s a fun vision for the future!

And that future isn’t all about speed and performance. All manufacturers need to connect – with devices, the consumers that use them and the world around us. We already have a reasonable expectation that our phones will talk to our cars and in doing so, will add functionality. When our cars become fully autonomous, the safety restrictions fall away and we’ll demand entertainment, office functionality and more.

More? Well, I spoke at FutureFest in London last year and Cindy Gallop was on stage before me, talking about the statistics for sex in cars. It’s higher in countries where larger families share smaller houses as the car naturally presents an intimate space – but auto manufacturers continually fail to recognise this. Imagine the potential to relieve the boredom of a long autonomous journey with some connected sexy times. Auto brands take note, if the car is rockin’ time to come knockin’.

The very public message from the car companies at CES was “we’re in control”. This is true to a point, but it’s mostly tinged with an air of panic as they all know the future can’t be delivered overnight. Many believe their music and movie-streaming audience will no longer wish to drive or own cars and this is increasingly the message from industry analysts. But this is mostly educated guesswork and the future isn’t predetermined so the automotive business needs to give its customers a reason to love their products, want to drive them (when not having sex) and make them their own.

The only way to do this is to connect to the future audience – the ones who currently have no concept of car ownership and have never even gripped a steering wheel. Don’t neglect existing customers, but enlist their help as they’re the drivers, owners and brand advocates that can help to share the reasons we choose a Union Jack roof for a MINI, spec 20” alloys on an Audi, tick the box for red stitching with black leather on an Alfa, and take a deep breath of ‘new car smell’ when we drive away from a dealership.

I’m a petrol head for life, even if we replace the petrol with a plug socket, the dashboard with an iPhone and the dealership with a VR headset.

#CES2016: Social Shockwaves

Well, CES 2016 delivered what it always delivers. It was amazing, enlightening, exhilarating, mentally and physically exhausting in equal measures. I'm rejuvenated and broken at the same time.

Although I’ve mentioned VR and connectivity in previous posts, this year’s event wasn’t really about one thing in particular, and that’s because the overarching banner of ‘IoT’ covers a multitude of sins. When so much is connected, mobile devices, home appliances, wearable tech and cars are all spoken about in the same breath.

For me, this year was big for Twitter, Vine and Instagram again, so I’ve summarised the CES 2016 headlines via my own social channels. From wearable airbags to Zombie Smart Fridges, I still believe effective social broadcast is an art form. I’m never likely to resort to mere retweets or regurgitating a news feed. If you follow me, you get cutting edge insight, divisive opinion, original content and irreverence in equal measures.

And actual conversation.

Human Airbag

Connected Development

#CES2016 kicks off with #FaradayFuture's #ConnectedCar, #IoT & #AI: Connected Development https://t.co/SupFUDyZwD pic.twitter.com/3CmTAMlnBW

— Dean Johnson (@activrightbrain) January 5, 2016

Zombie Smart Fridge

#CES2016 Breaking: Samsung announces #WalkingDead Limited Edition of its #SmartFridge. Keep that Walker fed! #IoT pic.twitter.com/kKWOiCpo75

— Dean Johnson (@activrightbrain) January 5, 2016

The Year of VR. Again

#CES2016: The Year of VR. Again https://t.co/jk9W48tUg7 #VR #VirtualReality #AR #WearableTech #OculusRift #SonyCES pic.twitter.com/lMrlBSmW5L

— Dean Johnson (@activrightbrain) January 6, 2016

Hoverboard Meetings

This > All meetings at #CES2016 pic.twitter.com/r1PmYroNRD

— Dean Johnson (@activrightbrain) January 6, 2016

Pimp my 7 Series

Loved my @BMWUSA #7Series ride to #CES2016 this morning. Just wish it could take me everywhere! #BMWCES2016 pic.twitter.com/1rrWMdQ7e5

— Dean Johnson (@activrightbrain) January 7, 2016

Spyderman

The @BMWUSA #7Series was stunning but the #BMWi8 #Spyder was a work of art! #CES2016 #BMWCES2016 @BMWiUSA pic.twitter.com/cfpewGiFx7

— Dean Johnson (@activrightbrain) January 7, 2016

The Future’s Bright, The Future’s Faraday Future

Speaking of stunning #CES2016 cars, #FaradayFuture #FFZERO1 is one of those... @FaradayFuture @CES pic.twitter.com/VnIjhE4pkq

— Dean Johnson (@activrightbrain) January 7, 2016

Walking the Light Fantastic – Orphe shoes

The full visual journey is covered on my Instagram feed.

Top Gear Head to Head

Right, you’ve got 30 seconds they said. You want to be a Top Gear presenter? Give it everything they said. Here you go, have a video. But it’s not enough I said. 43 years of preparation should be enough. It turns out it isn’t.

Anyone that knows me, or reads this blog regularly, knows I don’t do things by halves. I’ve co-presented with Apptain America (and even died at the point of his light saber in front of a live audience), had 4-way conversations with a bunch of mobile devices and recently revealed virtual reality Star Wars, inadvertently creating Vader porn.

Given 30 seconds to explain why I was the best man for the Top Gear job, there were undoubtedly some questions left unanswered so who better to ask them than… me.

So, straight to the point… do you think you can do better?

It’s not about doing a better job. If that’s your starting point then you’ve lost the audience already. On the other hand, this isn’t about keeping Jeremy, Captain Slow and the Hamster alive so I hope Chris and his production team aren’t just looking for impersonators and ‘natural successors’.

If you’re not the same, what are you?

Obviously, I’m a car nut – that’s a prerequisite. I’m also a presenter, so I guess that helps. I can talk passionately about this stuff, but not just about the fact it exists. I’ve spent years immersed in the automotive industry, working from the inside but loving it from the outside. My creative and technology backgrounds also mean I can talk with some degree of knowledge about why something looks like it does and where it’ll be in the future. What I’m NOT is a racing driver (although I’ll drive anything) or an engineer (so if it breaks down I can probably find the dipstick. Probably). I also haven’t had my photo taken next to any drivers or TV motor show presenters, so that probably counts me out already, although I once painted Tiff Needell’s portrait and Jeremy parked in a disabled space outside my house in Chipping Norton.

Why do you want this? Don’t you like your job?

I already have one of the best jobs in the world. The things we do at Brandwidth help change the shape of the automotive world. Giant holographic cars, showroom interaction and the Porsche Apple Watch app have all been industry ‘firsts’ for us.

This isn’t about running from something, it has everything to do with driving towards an extraordinary start line. This may never happen, in fact it probably won’t, but you’ll never know if you never try. Regret is an awful thing that burns far more energy than rising to a challenge.

Classic cars, what have you got against them?

It’s not that I don’t like ‘classics’ it’s just that my take on them covers the time most relevant to me - ie 1971 onwards. I’ve loved cars from the time I was able to ride in them (not drive them). I have an appreciation of the earlier cars but I really love where the industry is going so don't spend too much time looking back.

It’s the dream garage question. What’s your top three?

I wrote about the ones that got away a few years ago, listing cars such as the Plymouth Prowler, Fiat Coupé, TVR Sagaris and Renault Avantime. I’d still love them all in my garage but given the choice of three today I’d have a different short list.

First up would be my practical ‘family car’, an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio despite the fact it’s not available yet and I’d have trouble ordering one as I can’t pronounce it. I’m not sure I could own a car with a name like the sound made when driving over a cattle grid, but I'd give it a go.

The BMW i8 would have to be in my garage. I was fortunate enough to drive one around Vegas earlier this year and it ticks ALL the boxes for me. It’s a genuine supercar – the dimensions, performance and price all say so. It’s a technological tour de force, combining a clever hybrid engine, build and aerodynamics. The i8 is also a visual masterpiece, delivering head-turning drama with every surface, inside and out. It really is a concept car for the road.

I’d have another BMW for my third car – one of those ‘classics’, an 850CSi. I test-drove one at 19 but couldn’t buy it because my client was assassinated. It’s a long story and I’ll save that one for another day.

There may be one in your dream garage but you've never owned an Alfa. You’re not a proper petrolhead then?

At the risk of getting all defensive, this Top Gear thing is important, it’s incredibly exciting but as with my potential Alfa ownership, my family has been even more important. The first Alfa I really wanted was a GTV, around the same time I wanted a Fiat Coupé. I couldn’t afford either at the time so bought a Fiat Bravo instead because I loved the back lights and the tape deck cover. Seriously. I nearly bought a 147 for my wife, but we bought the first new generation MINI instead and never regretted that (she’s on her fourth now). By the time I could afford a Brera I had 2 kids with legs, so that wasn’t an option. I still wanted a 159 but bought a BMW instead as it was faster and pretty much guaranteed the whole A to B thing. There’s still an Alfa Romeo 8C Coupé on my wish list, and that Giulia Quadrifoglio.

First automotive pin up?

In the seventies I had a painting of an Escort MEXICO rally car on my bedroom wall. My dad had a white 2 door Escort estate as a company car and it was the closest we got to motor racing in those early years, with the shopping bouncing around in the boot.

First car driven?

Does a Sinclair C5 count? I loved that little plastic-bodied thing, with handlebars under your knees and bugs-in-your-teeth motoring.

First car owned. It can’t be a C5.

Ironically, I actually owned a Citroën C5 a few years a go (and an amazing C6), but that wasn’t as much fun as the Sinclair version. My first car was a Ford Fiesta MkI, in ‘almost British Racing Green’ with a brown vinyl roof. I thought it would be a great idea to paint the speedo needle red, to offset the actual lack of speed. I hadn’t accounted for the fact it then wouldn’t show up at night so I had to guess which numbers were being covered up, rather than pointed to. I also fitted a bucket seat, but only fixed the front so it hinged forward to let rear seat passengers in. Unfortunately, it also hinged forwards at every junction – with me sitting in it. It was eventually stolen (whole whole car, not just the seat) but joyriders lost control on a roundabout, ploughed through a fence into a pond. It was back on the road in a week. Crumple zones really weren’t high on the priority list back then.

If you got the Top Gear gig, this wouldn’t be your first visit to the studio would it?

Hah, no. We tested the ‘Lexus Symphony Orchestra’ on the Dunsfold set – an orchestra of cars using nothing but their powerful stereos to recreate unique compositions we’d recorded at Abbey Road. See, I told you the stuff I did at work was relevant.

In your TED talk last year, you said “I’d rather apologise for something awesome than ask permission for something lame”. Does that rule apply here?

Yes, more than ever. I think it’s been the Top Gear philosophy since its reinvention in 2002, although I’m not sure it helped Jeremy in the end. I really hope the spirit and irreverence of the show is retained as it genuinely reflects the audience, rather than an idea of how that audience should behave. If the aim is to pursue new viewers, there’s a very real risk of losing the existing ones (and that’s a huge global audience) but I’d love the challenge, especially when I can bring an extra helping of design and technology to the Top Gear table. That’s two things increasingly relevant to the next generation of car fans.

On that bombshell… no wait, we’re gonna need a new catchphrase.

Many thanks to Barons BMW, Farnborough for the M4 convertible. You know I'll be back.