Flying high! Another Goodwood sculpture success
Goodwood Porsche 2018 sculpture
For twenty-two years, the artist Gerry Judah, recently aided by the Diales engineering team (Bruno Postle, Hooman Baghi and Stuart Holdsworth), has been commissioned to build a spectacular centrepiece sculpture for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This year it is celebrating seventy years since the Porsche 356 was first introduced in 1948.
With 2016’s BMW installation commended for ‘structural artistry’ at the Institute of Structural Engineers annual awards, the pressure was on to deliver something even more spectacular for 2018. Mission accomplished!
A spike mace with long spar arms holding six real Porsche cars weighing in at approximately six tonnes and standing 52m high (the same as Nelson’s Column) – all supported on one slender leg (so fine at the bottom that you can put your hands around it), which is stabilised by anchored steel solid bars. The overall weight is 28 tonnes of perfectly laser cut, doubly curved thin steel plates monocoque.
Image courtesy of Littlehampton Welding LTD
Image courtesy of Littlehampton Welding LTD
Image courtesy of Littlehampton Welding LTD
Image courtesy of Littlehampton Welding LTD
The images speak for themselves, but here’s a little more detail on six Porsche models featured this year.
- The 356 was the first Porsche produced in 1948, a priceless Coupé model has been lifted forty metres into the air and has been left hanging upside-down.
- The 917 is an endurance racer, as driven by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film ‘Le Mans’.
- The 959 Paris Dakar rally winner from 1987, a twin-turbo flat-six four-wheel drive.
- The 918 Spyder is a hybrid road car from 2015, a 608bhp V8 petrol engine with 286bhp from two electric motors.
- Another hybrid car is the 919 Le Mans Prototype from 2015, this car holds the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record, previously unbroken since 1984.
- The 911R is a limited-edition road car introduced in 2016, representing the latest in Porsche design.
Look closely and you can tell these cars are the real-deal from the visible corrosion and repair jobs they have taken over the years.
The Diales engineering team will be back soon with more details of the challenges and technical know-how needed, along with Gerry’s vision, to keep on making a plethora of amazing vehicles fly!