It's Cobra Hunting Season
The annual Goodwood Members’ Meeting is one of the coolest vintage events in the world, drawing some of the greatest talent and iron on four wheels to one place. This year’s Graham Hill Trophy race featuring early-1960s GT racing cars was among the rowdier events on the schedule, as it was packed to the gills with big engine Cobras, Jaguar E-types, and Corvettes, with a few bantam-weight Porsches and Lotuses thrown in to keep things lively. One of those Porsches, a 904 driven by Olly Bryant, was an absolute smasher.
In this incredible onboard lap from Bryant, you can see his 904 pushing hard to overtake a Lotus and a Cobra. Through the onboard you can see just how differently the three cars handle a fast lap at the Goodwood circuit. The Cobra is all about brash acceleration and mitigating wheelspin, while the Lotus is hammer-down for the entirety of its run. The 904 is a good mix of the two, delivering impressive power and poise from its sonorous engine.
After Bryant managed to dispatch both cars in a single corner, thanks to a balk provided by the Cobra, there are a couple minutes of uninterrupted pace from the 904 as it laps in clear air. The sound, the sensation, and the rapid sawing of the wheel are indicative of just what it takes to go fast in a sixty-year-old fiberglass Porsche.
The 904 is among my favorite Porsche racing cars, as it blends mechanical and engineering simplicity with gorgeous unembellished design. Unfortunately I am far too tall to ever be able to fit in a 904, so I have to rely on video onboards like this to get my fix. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I do.
