American firepower

The Americana class tackles the Goodwood hillclimb

American firepower descended on the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed on Saturday as an eclectic mix of machinery spanning five decades tackled the hillclimb course as part of the Americana class. Among them was the ex-Dan Gurney Thompson-Buick Special in which ‘Handsome Dan’ finished twentieth in the 1962 Indy 500. The Trans-Am category was represented by Peter Rauman’s fabulous ex-Titus/Bucknum Ford Mustang which competed in the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours while Steve Goldin’s extraordinary seven-litre ‘Spirit of Le Mans’ Chevrolet Corvette fully embraced the maxim ‘it ain’t done ’til it’s overdone’. This 1000bhp monster qualified sixth for the 1976 Le Mans 24 Horus and topped 221mph through the Mulsanne speed traps but failed to finish.