A look Into the Future of Retro – Retro Rides Weekender 2023

We’ll not hide that we are totally biased towards Retro Rides events. It is the very definition of motoring happiness, where cars, people and venue all align to create the perfect weekend. This is why the Retro Rides Weekender at Goodwood, held on the 20th and 21st of May, is one of our most eagerly anticipated classic car events in the UK. No pretension, no ego, no divisions.

In case you haven’t heard, Retro Rides started off in the early 2000s as a web forum for those who appreciated modified, race, hot rods, custom, unusual or bespoke retro cars, with no fixed focus other than an appreciation to build a car that just looks right.

In its rapidly expanding reach, the forum picked up on the emerging JDM, Stanced, Race influenced and Rat look cars, that had not seen much in terms of exposure online. An appreciation of both aesthetics and engineering goes a long way to fitting into the Retro Rides ethic.

An exciting hub of ideas and thoughts, with free rein and a little decorum amongst those who joined in to contribute their restoration, builds, ideas and most importantly photos. Born in the era prior to the sprawl of social media, it was and remains a haven for retro car creativity.

The forum devised by David Murphy and a group of like-minded people, found the transition from the web to real-life events relatively easy. In the current digital world, the online collective nature of car owners joining social media is the norm. But David and his crew could be considered pioneers fully capitalising on the connection forged via the computer, and thus the Gathering and the Weekender events were born.

Another secret about the success of Retro Rides is tapping into the evolving interest, ages and demographics of those who attend the events. This is partly due to Retro Rides open-minded approach to car culture which resonates with like-minded people who simply get it. And those who don’t get it straight away, are helped to understand how to get it.

The early days of the leap from keyboard to live events like the Weekender, after the relative sanity of the forum were not without teething issues, as David and his team sought to find ideal venues. Yet, once they embraced the specific focal points in what makes Retro Rides work as a live event, the vibe and atmosphere and that respected decorum simply fell into place.

Goodwood is chosen as the venue for the first of the two Retro Rides events of the year. Known as the Weekender, it piggybacks on the marvellous Goodwood race circuit as the springtime opener for the show season. Now in its 19th year, the anticipation of the Weekender, has been built up this year by a particularly successful social media drive.

Embracing the metrics and patterns of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to help promote their brand, Retro Rides have really pulled out the stops this year and this was very evident by the sheer numbers of pre-2000 cars making an appearance at the Weekender.

As we arrived early on Saturday morning, it became clear that the usual areas to display the cars were quickly filling up, and the team had to think fast to find spots to allow for the overspill. This was even more evident on the Sunday, considered the main day of the Weekender.

The weather has always been favourable at the Retro Rides Weekender, often a combination of perfect temperatures with a light breeze and this year this good omen remained true. Long-time attendees and those who camp out over the weekend are the main beneficiaries of this. Despite the best of intentions, a good night’s sleep is not really part of the Weekender experience and those who wake up in a daze may well spend the weekend walking around in a fuzzy almost dreamlike trance.

Of course, you don’t need to be sleep-deprived to get the most out of the Weekender, but it wouldn’t be the same without those diehard attendees who live the weekend to its maximum strength. The shows can be categorised into three sections – the campsite, the show itself and the racetrack. We shall start at the campsite.

Another regular and entertaining aspect on top of the hazy glowing atmosphere of Goodwood is Kev’s legendary tat auction. The spectacle of auctioning objects sold for charity were a treat for those camping, followed by an evening of catch-ups and the odd ale. The campsite was accessible from Friday, allowing those to make an early start in time for the first session in the form of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club demo laps. (Thanks to Julian Rowlands for providing the camp site photo of the auction)

One of the first things we saw on Saturday morning was the sight of the 1968 ex-Alan Mann Racing Ford Escort Twin-Cam giving it some acceleration just out of Woodcote. An astonishing car in many respects, it is a genuine Ford-supplied works car hand that has seen plenty of historic race action. Restored around 10 years ago, it is one of the six original Escorts that Ford loaned to the Alan Mann Racing Team in 1968 to compete in the British and European Touring Car Championships. Worth a few pennies, it was great to see such an iconic car not hanging around.

With a pace that could easily rival the touring cars, Saturday was also interspersed with opportunities for spectators to watch the brave souls participating in the Power laps. It’s a full track sprint, consisting of two laps of the circuit, and allowed the drivers to get three runs in. The short track is surprisingly vulnerable to the elements, with its exposure occasionally catching drivers out with unexpected gusts of wind.

However, for those looking to get involved in these track days, it’s a relatively forgiving 2.3 miles of track and is smooth under foot on flat, with plenty of wide tarmac. The morning session had a good mix of cars, allowing us to watch Andy Waghorn’s recently overhauled Imp and Bryan Marland’s 1981 Audi Coupe which was inherited from his grandfather and then subjected to some rowdy modifications.

Following the Power laps, drivers can also particulate in the Supersprint action at the Weekender, a slightly different format which uses half the track, it’s an ideal initiation for those who wish to experience the sweeps and flows of the circuit without the stress of higher speeds. Immensely popular for this reason, the Supersprints could still catch out the participants, much to the crowd’s delight, as several cars spun out coming out of the Chicane Grandstands.

No stranger to the racetrack, the owner of this Supercharged Mazda MX5 spun out but regained control quickly. Tim Bishops 1967 NSU Prinz Sport was once owned by a renowned Bristol-based artist. Tim gives us the thumbs before his last session for the day. The Sunday was dedicated to the Autosolos, a rather more low-risk way to enjoy your car, with still free-flowing action and a chance to test your ability.

The themed paddocks and display areas are the main draw for many visitors to the Weekender, this year is dedicated to Air-cooled, White and Deadline areas. The Air-cooled section is a bit more than a selection of VWs and Porsches.

It provided a splattering of Citroen’s, Trabant’s, NSU’s and one rather interesting and unique Japanese car, which will look into in a bit.

Following the success of last year’s Red Room, the colour theme continued with the White Room, you might say added to the chilled ambience of the ice-cool event. The spectacle of roaming around amongst so many white-coloured cars was quite a spectacle. On a psychological level, white cars are said to install tranquillity, plushness and purity.

With a wide variety of cars that were almost overwhelmed by the sea of calm, the White Room did also contain a car that was worthy of an award.

Just outside of the inner sanctum of the paddocks, lay the Deadline section. A display area for ‘new’ builds coming out for the first time in 2023. These cars could be considered the very heart of Retro Rides. It covers wide criteria from precision ally finished pieces of engineering feats to rattle can jobs finished off during the previous night in the campsite. Several cars caught our eye like this now-rare MK1 Nissan Prairie. It had previously been blue and was brought to the event by Shah, having previously graced the event with their K10 Micra.

Jess’ E36 BMW is an example of a model that is on the ascendency in values, however, she uses it on a daily basis, thanks to its combination of comfort and power, with more than a touch of old-school feel to its driving experience. Kieron, her partner also pointed out a rather impressive Mercedes-powered Land Rover belonging to their friends.

The Retro Rides philosophy attracts and embraces those who are passionate about their craft, also appealing to those who like to beat their own drum. A perfect example of this was highlighted by a collective of owners based in South London, in a series of immaculately prepared customised low riders.

We had a chat with Laleen who brought along his 1948 Chevrolet to the Weekender. He actually grew up in Los Angeles and his Asian background resonated with the local Mexican diaspora, and that warm welcome he received has never been forgotten.

As a tribute to their Low-rider culture, he readily embraced while out there and upon returning to the UK he imported a car over and it has become very much part of his and his family’s life.

It’s always worth spending time in the club stand areas at the Weekender and during Retro Rides formative years, they were the main draw to their events. Having its collective roots way back in the 1990s, the Datsun Owner Club morphed into the Datsun Club UK, which also embraces Nissans up to the 1990s.

Brought together by Scott Andrews, he managed to collect an astonishing mix of cars with the most varied models seen on one stand. A coup for the club was obtaining a genuine Genuine Janspeed circuit-racing 240Z, owned by Ben Stapley, who had covered 550 miles for two shows over that weekend.

Pete’s Bosozoku-influenced B310 Sunny coupe as well as an achingly cool 330 280C hardtop coupe were amongst an always impressive selection of Datsuns and Nissans.

A collective of Italian cars provided a little finesse to the Weekender, allowing visitors to admire the elegant lines of some of the finest mass-produced cars of the era. Amongst the covered area by the circuit shop sat these three Lancia’s, each model illustrating the brand’s heritage of luxury, motorsports and quality.

The E39 BMW 5 Series is one of those cars that has not only aged very well but is bang on the money at the moment as an ideal Retro Ride. The more potent ones have already appreciated in value but there are still loads of good straight sixes out there which offer plenty of practicality with genuine driver appeal.

As a starting point for those wanting to embrace the Retro Rides scene, there are plenty of supermini’s on the market to get your teeth in. The Ford Fiesta in particular are ideal, due to their straightforward mechanics, ease of obtaining parts and cheap running costs. It doesn’t take much to make them look good either.

Much of the circuit is closed to motorsports on the Sunday of the Weekender, as the visitor’s pre-2000’s cars take over the track. In previous years, you’d expect to see cars up to the first right-hander after the start line. However, cones needed to be shifted to allow cars beyond Madgewick and into the second bend at Fordwater – roughly a 1/3 of the circuit full of lovely retro car goodness. Surely that’s a sign of success if it needed to be demonstrated visually?

The 80’s are well and truly in, as demonstrated by these Teutonic beauties each styling a set of Borbets 5 spokes. Wheels are often the first stop, usually in conjunction with suspension modifications and a source of regular conversation for any self-respecting Retro-Rider.

Dogs were allowed, and provided they were on leads are just as welcome here as guests. Some owners choose to take precautions and this chap with an impressive outfit multi-tasked the balance of a lovely Leica camera and his loyal companion.

This very rare A40 Austin woody makes a graceful appearance. Pulled it out of a scrapyard, it has gone through several rebuilds and re-engineering over the last 20 years.

Two beautifully finished Cortinas, one sporting a set of Halibrands the other being a late MK2 powered by the same Twin Cam engine from the Escort of the era.

We’ll move on to the end of the show, and leave you with the four winners and some of the logic behind the decisions, which has to be said bang on the money from your reviewer’s perspective.

The Truck Van Wagon Award was presented to Tony King and his KP36 Toyota 1000/Publica. Tony picked up the same honours at last year’s Retro Rides Gathering at Mallory Park, in which his Crown also won the accolade for the Truck Van Wagon Award. Tony as you might have deduced, is an aficionado of obscure Japanese cars, having been motivated by the sight of Retro Rides legend Ed Ratley when Tony was a teenager. That impression stayed with him, influenced by Ed’s similar approach to detail and passion.

Tony obtained the car via Greece, where it was very much a working vehicle, with a battered body shell to prove it. Upon replacing much of the exterior metal, he decided to panel up the rear side glass and convert the car into a closed van – a variant never officially produced by Toyota. A handful of tasteful finishing touches and some choice decals made it a completely deserving winner.

The Cool Award went to a very simple but well-executed VW Polo. Morgan Rowlands’ attention to detail and meticulous research really came through in his car, without the need to over-amplify the modifications. It really looked like an effortless creation, despite the time spent searching for parts and that fine fettling to make it look just right.

The 6N2 Polo is easily obtainable at the moment and like the Ford Fiesta, an ideal and cheap starter classic. Morgan’s generation plays a huge part in the future of Retro Rides, and this symbolic but worthy winner is a glimpse into things to come.

The Engine Award was presented to Hallscorts Performance’s Honda S2000-powered Ford Transit. The company specialise in dropping F20/K20 engines into first and second-generation Ford Escorts and they built this unique race truck to showcase the company’s talents. The turbocharged Honda F20C inline-four is said to produce around 700 bhp.

The (Dare to be) Different Award was won by a car that is likely to be off the radars of many people in the UK, even those well-versed in classic Japanese vehicles. Honda produced the little-known 1300 sedan and coupe models prior to the introduction of the Civic. Its air-cooled engine was capable of freely revving up to 8,000 rpm, and was used as a base to develop Honda’s motor racing engines.

The car belongs to Kirsten Tinsdale, along with her husband Ian, are the chairman for the Tatra’s owners club, neatly connecting both to the air-cooled philosophy. The couple were thrilled to answer the many questions from the receptive visitors and absorbed the friendly atmosphere of the event. The award went some way to reward their genuine enthusiasm.

So what won the covered Car of the Year Award? A very tastefully presented Porsche 914. Unusual, and often ignored by Porsche owners, its relative obscurity is due to its Volkswagen roots. Ironic considering the 356’s foundation. However, that wasn’t the reason why this car won the Car of the Year Award. Asides from being a fantastic build, the mid-engine layout with its favourable weight distribution lends it perfectly as an EV conversion.

David picks up on the reasoning. ‘Really, this is the car that Porsche should be making now, a fun driver’s car that looks cool, regardless of the drive train. If you get to see it again, have a look at all the details and custom touches. It is a special little car. In a show chocked full of awesome stuff, this still managed to stand out. We don’t do top tens, one winner and we stand by it. So here is our winner, you may have your own, and that is the beauty of it all really…’

Picking Classic Retrofit EV conversion was not chosen to ruffle feathers, but it simply is an excellent build and an incredible amount of thought has gone into it. A true Restromod and one that could potentially open up a path for another avenue of interest for the Future Retro rides events.

The event soon came to a natural end shortly after the presentation, as weary heads and those caught by the sun’s power face the enviable journey back home to reality. After a weekend of catch-ups and mild dehydration, we must conclude that the Retro Ride guys pulled out all the stops and it appears to have been the busiest and best-attended RRW event to date.

Next year celebrates 20 years of Retro Rides, but before we even consider that, there is their Retro Rides Gathering at Mallory Park on the 13th of August. We hope this encourages you to rock up to the next Retro Rides event in something modified, retro or rare. Maybe you have something that ticks all boxes. Goodwood has treated us well, as ever, and our hosts for the day, Retro Rides have not only gifted us a superb weekend but genuinely provided us with the best show this year so far.